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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: face · cold · track · plane · bulb · current · land · lie

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. current — electric
  3. track — a song
  4. face — to point toward
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. track — to keep track
  7. face — to confront
  8. bulb — for light
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. cold — not warm
  11. plane — a tool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. current — happening now
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. land — to come down
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. land — ground
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. land — a country
  20. lie — to recline
  21. current — of water
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. face — part of the head

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