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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to confront
  6. net — in sport
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. net — for catching
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. mark — a grade
  16. cell — a phone
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. mark — a trace
  19. ground — a position
  20. cell — in biology
  21. ground — the earth
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. face — to point toward
  24. net — after costs

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