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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. capital — money
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. field — for sport
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. capital — a city
  12. field — a subject
  13. stem — to come from
  14. track — a path
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bulb — for light
  17. press — to push
  18. press — a publisher
  19. face — to confront
  20. plane — a tool
  21. field — farmland
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. press — newspapers
  24. stem — a stem cell

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com