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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 120 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: content · bat · mine · land · temple · face · bowl · stick

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. land — a country
  4. face — to point toward
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. land — ground
  7. mine — for digging
  8. content — happy
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. content — the amount
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. face — to confront
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. face — part of the head
  21. land — to come down
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bowl — a dish

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