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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 116 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. row — a line
  4. land — a country
  5. ground — a position
  6. land — ground
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. scale — size or range
  10. land — to come down
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. row — to paddle
  13. mine — for digging
  14. board — to get on
  15. pit — in a race
  16. scale — in music
  17. face — to point toward
  18. board — a committee
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. ground — crushed
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — a hole
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. ground — the earth

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