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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: root · bowl · land · date · mine · face · cap · mate

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. land — to come down
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. land — a country
  6. face — to confront
  7. mate — a partner
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mate — a friend
  12. face — to point toward
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — the cause
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. cap — a lid
  18. root — of a plant
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. land — ground
  21. cap — of ice
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mate — to breed
  24. face — part of the head

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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