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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: wound · stick · present · last · cabinet · row · band · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. face — part of the head
  5. row — a line
  6. last — finally
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. wound — an injury
  17. present — the time now
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — there
  21. wound — an injury
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a music group
  24. row — to paddle

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