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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. face — to point toward
  3. root — of a word
  4. face — to confront
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. scale — in music
  10. date — the fruit
  11. face — part of the head
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. root — the cause
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. mine — for digging
  17. root — of a plant
  18. scale — size or range

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