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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. march — the month
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. land — to come down
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. face — part of the head
  8. row — to paddle
  9. march — the month
  10. face — to confront
  11. land — a country
  12. row — a line
  13. march — music
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. spring — of water
  19. chip — for betting
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. face — to point toward
  22. chip — to eat
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. saw — the tool

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