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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 120 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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. land — a country
  4. wind — moving air
  5. land — to come down
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. land — ground
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pop — music
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. pop — soda
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pop — to visit
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. face — to point toward
  24. face — to confront

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