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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to confront
  4. land — ground
  5. track — a song
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. track — a path
  8. land — to come down
  9. staff — a stick
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. staff — employees
  12. face — to point toward
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — to play on
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. swing — in golf
  20. track — to keep track
  21. land — a country
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. fork — in a road
  24. dip — to sink

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