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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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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: cue · deal · season · face · chest · roll · date · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. cue — a signal
  4. chest — a box
  5. roll — a list
  6. chest — of your body
  7. land — a country
  8. cue — a hint
  9. roll — a cake
  10. face — to confront
  11. cue — for pool
  12. season — of the year
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. land — to come down
  16. face — part of the head
  17. season — in sport
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. chest — of your body
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. face — to point toward
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — the fruit

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