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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 120 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: plane · rock · face · game · cell · deal · charge · perch

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. game — a match
  3. rock — music
  4. perch — the fish
  5. plane — a tool
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. face — part of the head
  9. rock — a stone
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — wild animals
  13. face — to point toward
  14. charge — a price
  15. deal — to handle
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. face — to confront
  20. charge — in control
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. charge — electricity

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