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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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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 · firm · wound · file · pound · bear · roll · chair

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. firm — a company
  3. face — to confront
  4. file — a document
  5. face — to point toward
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chair — a leader
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. firm — decided
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bear — the animal
  13. firm — steady
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. file — a tool
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wound — an injury
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — a cake
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. face — part of the head

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