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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. object — to protest
  3. face — to confront
  4. land — a country
  5. last — final
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — a price
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. object — a thing
  10. rock — music
  11. last — finally
  12. date — the fruit
  13. charge — in control
  14. last — to go on
  15. cold — an illness
  16. land — to come down
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. object — an aim
  21. land — ground
  22. face — to point toward
  23. cold — not warm
  24. date — on the calendar

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