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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. spring — of water
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. squash — to crush
  5. land — to come down
  6. face — to point toward
  7. squash — the sport
  8. face — to confront
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. land — ground
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. spring — a coil
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. sharp — clever
  23. spring — the season
  24. land — a country

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