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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. mug — a cup
  3. land — a country
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. board — a committee
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mug — to rob
  9. land — to come down
  10. season — in sport
  11. face — to confront
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. board — to get on
  14. ground — crushed
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. prune — to trim
  17. file — a document
  18. land — ground
  19. mug — a face
  20. season — of the year
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. face — part of the head
  24. prune — the fruit

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