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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 120 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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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. face — part of the head
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — a container
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to bend
  15. mine — for digging
  16. face — to point toward
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lean — to rest against

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