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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: land · mine · face · foot · temple · scale · wound · chip

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. face — to confront
  3. scale — size or range
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. chip — for betting
  8. land — to come down
  9. face — part of the head
  10. scale — in music
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. mine — for digging
  14. face — to point toward
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chip — to eat
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. land — ground
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. foot — a measure
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mine — belonging to me

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