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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: swing · fine · bank · race · cell · stem · fall · face

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — high quality
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. swing — in golf
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. bank — for money
  10. fine — all right
  11. fall — the season
  12. face — part of the head
  13. race — humankind
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — to play on
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bank — for money
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. face — to confront
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — to come from
  24. cell — in a prison

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