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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: scale · march · face · mine · drill · sharp · lash · present

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. present — a gift
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. face — part of the head
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. march — the month
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — a practice
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. march — music
  16. face — to point toward
  17. mine — for digging
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. march — the month
  20. present — the time now
  21. drill — army training
  22. present — there
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. mine — an explosive

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