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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. land — a country
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. spell — letters
  6. kid — child
  7. face — to confront
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. spell — magic
  11. kid — to tease
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. last — finally
  15. land — to come down
  16. last — final
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. last — to go on
  20. face — part of the head
  21. foot — a measure
  22. season — in sport
  23. land — ground
  24. season — of the year

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