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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: face · ground · pound · can · prune · chip · date · fall

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. chip — for betting
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. ground — a position
  6. can — to be able to
  7. pound — a weight
  8. can — a tin
  9. face — to confront
  10. ground — crushed
  11. face — part of the head
  12. ground — the earth
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fall — the season
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. can — a tin
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. date — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. face — to point toward

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