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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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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: kid · face · content · cabinet · mate · land · drill · game

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. land — ground
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. content — happy
  5. mate — to breed
  6. game — wild animals
  7. drill — the tool
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. drill — a practice
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mate — a friend
  15. content — the amount
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. face — to point toward
  18. kid — child
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — part of the head
  21. kid — to tease
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. game — a match

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