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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 120 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: pound · wind · ground · hand · cue · face · stem · bear

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. pound — a weight
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. cue — for pool
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cue — a signal
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. hand — help
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cue — a hint
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. ground — crushed
  18. hand — in cards
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. face — part of the head
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. ground — a position
  23. stem — to come from
  24. face — to confront

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