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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. last — to go on
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. face — to confront
  6. last — finally
  7. face — to point toward
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. stem — to come from
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. last — final
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. firm — steady
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a ring
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. face — part of the head
  23. wind — moving air
  24. firm — a company

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