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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: pit · face · fan · suit · mine · land · chest · roll

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. land — to come down
  3. roll — a cake
  4. face — to point toward
  5. chest — of your body
  6. suit — in cards
  7. land — a country
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pit — in a race
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. face — part of the head
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. roll — a list
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. suit — clothes
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. suit — to fit
  20. face — to confront
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. pit — a hole
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. land — ground

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