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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chip — for betting
  5. face — to point toward
  6. game — wild animals
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. stand — to bear
  12. cold — not warm
  13. chip — to eat
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — the cause
  17. date — the fruit
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. game — a match
  22. face — to confront
  23. cold — an illness
  24. root — of a word

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