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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 120 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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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: cell · face · staff · lie · kick · capital · snap · prune

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. face — to confront
  3. prune — to trim
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. cell — a phone
  8. kick — in football
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. lie — to recline
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. face — part of the head
  13. cell — in biology
  14. capital — money
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. face — to point toward
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. prune — to trim
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. capital — a city
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. staff — employees
  24. kick — a thrill

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