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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. face — part of the head
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. firm — steady
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. land — to come down
  10. face — to confront
  11. firm — a company
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — a phone
  14. game — wild animals
  15. land — ground
  16. face — to point toward
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bore — to tire
  19. game — a match
  20. clip — a video
  21. land — a country
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cell — in a prison

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