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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: pop · face · cell · straw · stand · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. face — to confront
  3. stand — to bear
  4. pop — music
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. cell — a phone
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cell — in biology
  13. pop — soda
  14. face — part of the head
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rule — a law
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. face — to point toward

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