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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: fork · ground · mark · face · roll · kick · stem · season

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. roll — a cake
  5. ground — a position
  6. roll — a list
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. kick — in football
  9. face — to confront
  10. ground — the earth
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. face — to point toward
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mark — a grade
  15. stem — to come from
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. season — of the year
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. face — part of the head
  20. season — in sport
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. ground — crushed
  24. fork — in a road

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