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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — a trail
  4. land — to come down
  5. face — part of the head
  6. plane — a tool
  7. pound — a weight
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. scale — in music
  11. mate — to breed
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. mate — a friend
  15. kid — child
  16. mate — a partner
  17. scale — size or range
  18. face — to point toward
  19. kid — to tease
  20. land — ground
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. face — to confront
  24. plane — an aircraft

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