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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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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: face · mine · band · kid · sharp · firm · land · toast

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. face — to point toward
  3. firm — a company
  4. band — a music group
  5. sharp — clever
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. firm — steady
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. band — a ring
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. toast — bread
  12. face — part of the head
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. face — to confront
  19. land — to come down
  20. firm — decided
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. kid — child
  23. mine — for digging
  24. land — ground

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