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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. land — a country
  3. mate — to breed
  4. pop — soda
  5. dip — to sink
  6. pop — to visit
  7. rash — hasty
  8. land — ground
  9. mate — a friend
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. land — to come down
  13. face — part of the head
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. face — to point toward
  16. pop — music
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. mate — a partner
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. rash — a series

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