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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: cell · hand · land · face · last · wave · cap · lie

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cap — a hat
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. last — to go on
  7. land — to come down
  8. cap — a lid
  9. face — to point toward
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. last — final
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. last — finally
  14. lie — to recline
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. face — part of the head
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. land — ground
  20. cell — in biology
  21. land — a country
  22. cell — a phone
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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