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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 · wound · face · fall · date · pitch · charge · mate

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  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. land — a country
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. face — to confront
  6. land — ground
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pitch — completely
  9. date — the fruit
  10. land — to come down
  11. charge — a price
  12. wound — an injury
  13. charge — electricity
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mate — a friend
  19. face — to point toward
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. mate — to breed
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. charge — in control
  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