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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 116 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: firm · straw · rule · stem · spell · face · last · fork

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. last — final
  3. firm — a company
  4. face — part of the head
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. last — to go on
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. spell — magic
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. spell — letters
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. fork — in a road
  13. rule — government
  14. spell — a short time
  15. firm — steady
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. rule — a law
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. last — finally
  21. face — to point toward
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. face — to confront
  24. fork — to eat with

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