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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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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 had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. spell — magic
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. face — to confront
  5. capital — money
  6. face — to point toward
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. ground — the earth
  10. board — to get on
  11. board — a committee
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. spell — letters
  15. clip — to cut
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. spell — a short time

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