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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: bear · season · mate · stick · mine · rule · land · face

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. land — to come down
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bear — the animal
  9. rule — a law
  10. season — in sport
  11. mate — to breed
  12. land — ground
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. rule — government
  15. mine — for digging
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. face — to confront
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. face — to point toward
  21. season — of the year
  22. land — a country
  23. bear — the animal
  24. face — part of the head

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