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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · charge · date · face · game · wind · rule · land

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. wind — to turn a key
  2. charge — a price
  3. wind — moving air
  4. charge — in control
  5. rule — a law
  6. spring — of water
  7. land — to come down
  8. game — a match
  9. rule — government
  10. land — a country
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — to point toward
  14. date — the fruit
  15. game — wild animals
  16. spring — the season
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. spring — a coil
  19. charge — electricity
  20. face — part of the head
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. land — ground
  23. wind — moving air
  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