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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: cell · firm · rule · wind · face · ball · board · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. face — part of the head
  3. rule — a law
  4. firm — a company
  5. face — to confront
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. board — a committee
  10. firm — steady
  11. board — to get on
  12. firm — decided
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. track — a path
  18. cell — in biology
  19. track — a song
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. face — to point toward
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. rule — government

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