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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 120 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: pound · rash · chest · chair · face · wound · stem · net

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. net — for catching
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rash — a series
  11. stem — to come from
  12. pound — a weight
  13. net — in sport
  14. chest — a box
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chair — a leader
  19. face — to point toward
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. chest — of your body
  23. face — part of the head
  24. net — after costs

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