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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 120 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. land — a country
  4. spell — magic
  5. rock — a stone
  6. pop — music
  7. spell — letters
  8. face — to point toward
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. land — ground
  13. rock — music
  14. pop — to visit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. spell — a short time
  18. face — to confront
  19. row — a line
  20. land — to come down
  21. row — to paddle
  22. pop — soda
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. row — a quarrel

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