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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: face · charge · cabinet · stem · hand · firm · spell · game

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. stem — to come from
  3. charge — electricity
  4. charge — a price
  5. face — to point toward
  6. hand — in cards
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. face — part of the head
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. game — a match
  11. firm — decided
  12. spell — a short time
  13. charge — in control
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. spell — magic
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. face — to confront
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. spell — letters
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. firm — a company
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. game — wild animals
  24. hand — help

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