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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: stem · face · bear · calf · pitcher · mate · ground · last

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. stem — to come from
  3. mate — a partner
  4. ground — the earth
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. ground — crushed
  8. last — to go on
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. last — final
  13. face — part of the head
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. ground — a position
  23. mate — a friend
  24. last — finally

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