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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: fork · mine · pass · bass · face · fall · cap · land

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — of ice
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. fall — the season
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. pass — a permit
  15. cap — a lid
  16. bass — low music
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — to point toward
  23. land — a country
  24. bass — the fish

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