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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: face · last · bowl · coach · bat · firm · ground · ruler

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. ground — a position
  5. last — finally
  6. face — to point toward
  7. last — final
  8. firm — steady
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. firm — decided
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to confront
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. firm — a company
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. last — to go on
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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