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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 116 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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. hand — in cards
  3. face — to confront
  4. hand — help
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. face — to point toward
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. dip — to sink
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bank — of a river
  13. bank — for money
  14. face — part of the head
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bat — the animal
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bank — for money
  23. stem — to come from
  24. bear — the animal

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