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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: cold · march · fine · land · calf · plane · rule · face

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. march — the month
  3. face — to point toward
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. land — to come down
  6. plane — a tool
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. face — part of the head
  9. rule — government
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. march — music
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. land — ground
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. cold — not warm
  19. face — to confront
  20. march — the month
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rule — a law
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. fine — high quality

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