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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: cap · charge · root · row · face · land · rule · date

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. charge — a price
  4. charge — in control
  5. charge — electricity
  6. cap — a hat
  7. face — to confront
  8. land — to come down
  9. cap — of ice
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. root — of a word
  12. face — part of the head
  13. date — the fruit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rule — a law
  17. cap — a lid
  18. root — the cause
  19. row — a line
  20. root — of a plant
  21. land — a country
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — government
  24. face — to point toward

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