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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: land · bore · craft · dip · mine · face · can · cell

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — to confront
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. cell — in biology
  8. land — a country
  9. mine — for digging
  10. craft — boats
  11. face — part of the head
  12. land — ground
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. bore — to drill
  15. cell — a phone
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — to be able to
  18. land — to come down
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to tire
  22. can — a tin
  23. craft — a skill
  24. dip — to sink

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