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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: hand · stem · face · rock · cabinet · cold · pop · march

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. face — part of the head
  4. hand — in cards
  5. stem — to come from
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. march — the month
  8. face — to confront
  9. cold — not warm
  10. march — music
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. pop — music
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. rock — a stone
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cold — an illness
  19. face — to point toward
  20. rock — music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. march — the month
  23. pop — soda
  24. hand — help

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