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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: toast · wake · firm · face · cell · prune · staff · spring

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. staff — employees
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. firm — decided
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wake — a trail
  7. firm — a company
  8. spring — the season
  9. face — to point toward
  10. prune — to trim
  11. spring — a coil
  12. toast — bread
  13. prune — to trim
  14. staff — a stick
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. spring — of water
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. cell — a phone
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. firm — steady
  24. staff — employees

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