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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: press · shower · wax · stem · race · date · field · face

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. date — the fruit
  3. face — to point toward
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. press — to push
  9. field — farmland
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. face — to confront
  13. race — humankind
  14. field — for sport
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. face — part of the head
  17. race — a contest
  18. wax — to grow
  19. shower — rain
  20. field — a subject
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — newspapers
  23. race — the arms race
  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