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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: bear · face · last · hand · bore · trunk · firm · spell

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bore — to tire
  3. face — part of the head
  4. firm — a company
  5. last — finally
  6. bear — the animal
  7. spell — magic
  8. bear — the animal
  9. face — to point toward
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. last — to go on
  15. firm — decided
  16. face — to confront
  17. hand — in cards
  18. spell — letters
  19. hand — help
  20. spell — a short time
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bore — to drill
  24. last — final

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