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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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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 · saw · content · stick · mate · patient · file · stem

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. mate — a friend
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a tool
  8. mate — to breed
  9. stem — to come from
  10. content — happy
  11. file — a document
  12. face — to confront
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. content — the amount
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to point toward
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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