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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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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: stick · scale · cold · stem · face · lie · deal · foot

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. face — to confront
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. cold — an illness
  7. lie — to recline
  8. cold — not warm
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. face — part of the head
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. face — to point toward
  18. scale — in music
  19. deal — to handle
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. scale — size or range
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. scale — for weighing

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