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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 120 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. face — to confront
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stem — to come from
  8. cell — a phone
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. swing — in golf
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. face — part of the head
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. lean — to bend
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. face — to point toward
  23. swing — music
  24. lean — thin

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