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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: kid · saw · last · lie · bear · stem · cell · face

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cell — in biology
  7. face — part of the head
  8. cell — a phone
  9. last — finally
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. kid — to tease
  12. last — final
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. saw — the tool
  16. last — to go on
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — to point toward
  20. kid — child
  21. bear — the animal
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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