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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: present · face · tear · bat · firm · fall

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. firm — steady
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tear — from crying
  5. firm — decided
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. tear — from crying
  9. present — the time now
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — part of the head
  13. fall — to drop
  14. firm — a company
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fall — the season
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. present — a gift

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