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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: rule · stem · tear · prune · race · mate · lash · face

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. race — humankind
  3. stem — to come from
  4. mate — to breed
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. prune — to trim
  7. race — the arms race
  8. face — to point toward
  9. mate — a friend
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. race — a contest
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. mate — a partner
  15. rule — government
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. rule — a law
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. face — to confront
  23. prune — to trim
  24. stem — a stem cell

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