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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: pop · last · firm · mine · rock · chest · roll · face

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. pop — soda
  4. face — part of the head
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. last — final
  7. pop — to visit
  8. rock — a stone
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pop — music
  11. last — to go on
  12. face — to point toward
  13. firm — a company
  14. last — finally
  15. face — to confront
  16. chest — of your body
  17. roll — a cake
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. firm — steady
  20. rock — music
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a list
  23. chest — a box
  24. firm — decided

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