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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. staff — employees
  3. fine — all right
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. face — to confront
  7. sharp — clever
  8. staff — a stick
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. staff — employees
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. fine — high quality
  16. face — part of the head
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. 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