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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. mine — for digging
  6. toast — bread
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bat — the animal
  9. land — to come down
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. land — ground
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. face — to confront
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. land — a country
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. drill — a practice
  24. face — part of the head

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