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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: saw · wind · stem · shower · lean · rule · fork · face

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. face — part of the head
  3. rule — a law
  4. shower — to wash
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. wind — moving air
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. shower — rain
  9. face — to confront
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to bend
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — government
  14. wind — moving air
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. face — to point toward
  18. saw — the tool
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. fork — in a road
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — to come from

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