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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: land · stem · fall · face · cold · current · lean · pit

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. land — a country
  3. lean — to bend
  4. land — ground
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. face — part of the head
  7. current — happening now
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. current — of water
  12. face — to confront
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stem — to come from
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. land — to come down
  22. face — to point toward
  23. pit — in a race
  24. lean — thin

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