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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: fall · face · lie · wound · root · content · last · roll

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. roll — a list
  3. fall — to drop
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. last — final
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — to point toward
  9. last — to go on
  10. content — the amount
  11. root — of a plant
  12. lie — to recline
  13. roll — a cake
  14. root — the cause
  15. face — part of the head
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wound — an injury
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. content — happy
  21. root — of a word
  22. fall — the season
  23. last — finally
  24. lie — an untruth

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