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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
468
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: net · rule · march · land · face · bay · mate · spring

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. march — the month
  3. net — in sport
  4. spring — of water
  5. mate — a friend
  6. spring — a coil
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. spring — the season
  10. land — ground
  11. march — music
  12. land — to come down
  13. face — to confront
  14. rule — a law
  15. march — the month
  16. rule — government
  17. net — for catching
  18. mate — to breed
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. net — after costs
  22. face — part of the head
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. land — a country

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