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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. net — in sport
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. face — part of the head
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. face — to confront
  10. net — after costs
  11. face — to point toward
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — low music
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. pass — a permit
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. net — for catching
  24. date — the fruit

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