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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — part of the head
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. land — a country
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. file — a document
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. current — electric
  13. face — to confront
  14. file — a line of people
  15. current — of water
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. saw — the tool
  18. file — a tool
  19. current — happening now
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. land — to come down
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. saw — the tool

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