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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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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: leaves · cell · net · pop · tear · lie · root · face

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. tear — from crying
  5. root — of a plant
  6. face — to confront
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. root — of a word
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. root — the cause
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — in sport
  20. face — part of the head
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. net — after costs
  23. face — to point toward
  24. cell — in biology

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