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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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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. face — to confront
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lie — to recline
  6. face — part of the head
  7. content — the amount
  8. spring — a coil
  9. capital — money
  10. spring — of water
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. spring — the season
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. face — to point toward
  16. content — happy
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. capital — a big letter

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