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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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Word bank
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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: face · bear · mine · cell · net · perch

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cell — in biology
  3. net — after costs
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. perch — the fish
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. net — for catching
  10. bear — the animal
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cell — a phone
  13. mine — for digging
  14. net — in sport
  15. face — part of the head
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. face — to point toward

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