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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — part of the head
  5. stem — to come from
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. fall — to drop
  8. snap — to click
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. fall — the season
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. rash — hasty
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. face — to confront
  16. rash — a series
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. hand — help
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. fall — to drop
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. hand — in cards

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