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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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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 · cell · mine · lean · hide · fork · nail · rock

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rock — music
  3. mine — for digging
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. face — to point toward
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. fork — in a road
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. cell — a phone
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. rock — a stone
  17. face — part of the head
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — thin
  20. cell — in biology
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fork — to eat with

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