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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 116 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: straw · mate · land · face · pop · bat · nail · fine

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  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. mate — a partner
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. mate — to breed
  4. land — ground
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. land — to come down
  9. face — to confront
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. mate — a friend
  12. pop — to visit
  13. land — a country
  14. face — to point toward
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pop — soda
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. pop — music
  19. fine — high quality
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. fine — all right
  22. bat — the animal
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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