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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: sharp · vault · band · pitcher · mine · face · land · charge

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. land — a country
  4. face — part of the head
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. face — to point toward
  10. charge — in control
  11. sharp — clever
  12. mine — for digging
  13. charge — electricity
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. vault — a safe
  16. band — a music group
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. land — to come down
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. charge — a price
  23. land — ground
  24. band — a ring

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