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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: face · spell · degree · stem · file · hide · wave · pitcher

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. file — a tool
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — to come from
  12. face — part of the head
  13. file — a document
  14. spell — a short time
  15. file — a line of people
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. face — to confront
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. face — to point toward
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. spell — magic

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