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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: perch · land · band · face · root · pass · last · cabinet

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. band — a music group
  3. face — to confront
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. band — a ring
  6. face — part of the head
  7. root — of a word
  8. land — ground
  9. last — finally
  10. root — of a plant
  11. last — final
  12. land — to come down
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. last — to go on
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. pass — a permit
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. land — a country
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. root — the cause
  24. face — to point toward

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