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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: cell · land · face · last · firm · root · board · straw

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. land — a country
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. last — to go on
  5. board — a committee
  6. firm — decided
  7. firm — a company
  8. root — the cause
  9. face — part of the head
  10. last — final
  11. board — to get on
  12. land — to come down
  13. cell — in biology
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. face — to point toward
  16. root — of a plant
  17. last — finally
  18. firm — steady
  19. cell — a phone
  20. land — ground
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. root — of a word
  24. board — a flat piece

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