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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: rock · foot · squash · cold · face · land · leaves · fork

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. squash — to crush
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to confront
  7. rock — music
  8. face — to point toward
  9. land — ground
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. land — a country
  13. rock — a stone
  14. land — to come down
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. fork — in a road
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. squash — the sport
  20. cold — an illness
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. leaves — to go away

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