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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. saw — the tool
  5. face — part of the head
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. face — to confront
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — of water
  14. saw — the tool
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. land — ground
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. land — a country
  21. mine — for digging
  22. face — to point toward
  23. land — to come down
  24. saw — past of 'see'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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