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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: face · last · lean · squash · net · land · roll · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. face — part of the head
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. last — finally
  6. face — to confront
  7. land — ground
  8. net — after costs
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. lean — to bend
  11. land — a country
  12. net — in sport
  13. roll — a cake
  14. face — to point toward
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. land — to come down
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. lean — thin
  20. game — a match
  21. last — to go on
  22. roll — a list
  23. net — for catching
  24. last — final

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