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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 120 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: scale · land · pop · band · arm · pitcher · bore · face

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. face — to confront
  5. land — to come down
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. scale — in music
  8. pop — to visit
  9. band — a music group
  10. pop — soda
  11. face — part of the head
  12. pop — music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — to drill
  16. scale — size or range
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. face — to point toward
  21. band — a ring
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. land — ground
  24. arm — part of the body

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