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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: deal · lash · last · face · toast · ground · stem · hand

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. deal — to handle
  3. last — to go on
  4. hand — help
  5. ground — crushed
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. face — to point toward
  8. stem — to come from
  9. ground — a position
  10. hand — in cards
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. face — part of the head
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. last — final
  17. face — to confront
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. ground — the earth
  21. last — finally
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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