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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: land · date · jam · nail · face · rule · kid · wound

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. face — part of the head
  4. land — a country
  5. kid — child
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. wound — an injury
  12. date — the fruit
  13. face — to confront
  14. land — to come down
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. land — ground
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. kid — to tease
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rule — government
  22. face — to point toward
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. rule — a law

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