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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: face · bear · wound · game · rest · root · wake · band

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. game — a match
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. wake — a trail
  6. game — wild animals
  7. root — the cause
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bear — the animal
  10. band — a music group
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. band — a ring
  20. root — of a plant
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. root — of a word

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