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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: rash · leaves · ball · face · land · firm · foot · pitcher

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. rash — hasty
  3. face — to confront
  4. land — ground
  5. rash — a series
  6. face — part of the head
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. foot — a measure
  11. firm — a company
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. face — to point toward
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. ball — a dance
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. land — to come down
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. ball — a great time
  22. firm — decided
  23. land — a country
  24. foot — the bottom

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