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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: last · toast · stem · face · press · capital

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. press — to push
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — to confront
  7. press — a publisher
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — to come from
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. toast — bread
  12. capital — a city
  13. press — newspapers
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. last — finally
  17. face — part of the head
  18. stem — a stem cell

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