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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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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: snap · lie · cabinet · face · spring · land · cell · hide

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. land — ground
  6. cell — in biology
  7. face — to confront
  8. cell — a phone
  9. spring — the season
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. face — to point toward
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — to recline
  15. snap — to click
  16. spring — of water
  17. face — part of the head
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. land — to come down
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. spring — a coil
  24. land — a country

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