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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 116 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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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: firm · staff · face · chair · content · prune · plane · wind

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. face — part of the head
  3. firm — decided
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. face — to confront
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. chair — a leader
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. face — to point toward
  12. content — the amount
  13. firm — steady
  14. staff — a stick
  15. wind — moving air
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — a tool
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. wind — moving air
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. content — happy
  24. content — videos and posts

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