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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. face — to point toward
  3. bulb — for light
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. face — to confront
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. land — to come down
  10. snap — to click
  11. land — a country
  12. cell — a phone
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. face — part of the head
  18. stem — to come from
  19. cell — in biology
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bulb — for light

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