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

Word bank: face · cell · last · present · rule · bear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. face — to confront
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bear — the animal
  5. rule — a law
  6. last — final
  7. face — to point toward
  8. present — there
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rule — government
  11. present — a gift
  12. bear — the animal
  13. face — part of the head
  14. present — the time now
  15. last — to go on
  16. cell — in biology
  17. last — finally
  18. rule — to rule out

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