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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. charge — a price
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. drill — a practice
  5. charge — electricity
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. drill — army training
  8. face — to confront
  9. pitch — completely
  10. drill — the tool
  11. face — to point toward
  12. spring — of water
  13. charge — in control
  14. mine — for digging
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. spring — the season
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bore — to tire
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bore — to drill
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pitch — a sports field

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