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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: racket · squash · mate · tube · ground · face · cabinet · land

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. ground — crushed
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. face — part of the head
  6. mate — a friend
  7. face — to confront
  8. mate — to breed
  9. land — ground
  10. squash — the sport
  11. tube — a container
  12. ground — the earth
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. tube — the underground
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. land — a country
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. squash — to crush
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. face — to point toward
  23. land — to come down
  24. ground — a position

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