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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 · net · stem · ground · deal · cold · rash · temple

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. ground — a position
  3. rash — hasty
  4. stem — to come from
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — part of the head
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — crushed
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. net — in sport
  19. rash — a series
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. net — after costs
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. deal — to handle

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