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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: lie · fall · ground · face · land · bark · snap · stem

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. snap — to click
  5. bark — to shout
  6. land — ground
  7. ground — the earth
  8. fall — the season
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. ground — a position
  11. land — a country
  12. fall — to drop
  13. lie — to recline
  14. stem — to come from
  15. face — part of the head
  16. fall — to drop
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. land — to come down
  20. face — to point toward
  21. ground — crushed
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. face — to confront
  24. lie — an untruth

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