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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 116 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: object · content · last · lash · face · land · cap · spell

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. face — to point toward
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. content — happy
  5. last — finally
  6. object — to protest
  7. land — ground
  8. last — final
  9. land — to come down
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. object — an aim
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. face — part of the head
  14. spell — a short time
  15. face — to confront
  16. spell — letters
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — a hat
  19. spell — magic
  20. last — to go on
  21. content — the amount
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. object — a thing
  24. land — a country

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