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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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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: drill · chest · stem · face · stand · can · land · fall

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — a tin
  4. face — to point toward
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stand — to bear
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. fall — the season
  11. chest — a box
  12. fall — to drop
  13. can — to be able to
  14. face — to confront
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. land — a country
  18. face — part of the head
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. land — to come down
  23. drill — army training
  24. stand — on your feet

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