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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: date · chest · dip · lie · wax · race · face · stem

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. lie — to recline
  7. face — to confront
  8. dip — to sink
  9. stem — to come from
  10. date — the fruit
  11. face — part of the head
  12. race — a contest
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wax — to grow
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. face — to point toward
  19. race — humankind
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — on the calendar

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