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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. charge — in control
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. drill — the tool
  6. mine — for digging
  7. march — the month
  8. land — ground
  9. charge — a price
  10. march — music
  11. face — to confront
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. charge — electricity
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. land — to come down
  18. shower — rain
  19. land — a country
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. face — part of the head
  22. march — the month
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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