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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: board · kid · face · land · march · scale · rash · sharp

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — to get on
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. face — part of the head
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. scale — size or range
  8. land — ground
  9. march — music
  10. face — to point toward
  11. march — the month
  12. rash — a series
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — in music
  15. sharp — clever
  16. land — a country
  17. kid — to tease
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. rash — hasty
  20. kid — child
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. march — the month
  23. face — to confront
  24. land — to come down

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