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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: land · face · wound · ground · cap · bark · date · rest

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. date — the fruit
  3. face — to confront
  4. ground — crushed
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — of ice
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. cap — a lid
  11. ground — a position
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. face — to point toward
  14. ground — the earth
  15. land — a country
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bark — to shout
  19. rest — what's left
  20. land — to come down
  21. rest — a break
  22. land — ground
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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