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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · wound · race · face · file · stem

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stem — to come from
  4. file — a line of people
  5. cell — in biology
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — to confront
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. race — humankind
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. file — a document
  12. race — a contest
  13. file — a tool
  14. wound — an injury
  15. race — the arms race
  16. face — part of the head
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. cell — a phone

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