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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: temple · pop · rest · land · charge · row · face · pitch

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. land — to come down
  3. charge — electricity
  4. pop — soda
  5. face — to point toward
  6. land — a country
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. charge — a price
  12. face — to confront
  13. pop — music
  14. charge — in control
  15. land — ground
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. face — part of the head
  19. row — a line
  20. pitch — completely
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pitch — a sports field

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