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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: coach · land · hand · mate · bulb · cabinet · face · net

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. mate — a friend
  3. face — part of the head
  4. land — ground
  5. hand — in cards
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. land — a country
  8. net — after costs
  9. face — to point toward
  10. net — for catching
  11. mate — a partner
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. mate — to breed
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. net — in sport
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. hand — help
  20. bulb — for light
  21. face — to confront
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. hand — part of the body

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