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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. capital — a city
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. file — a document
  6. mate — to breed
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. last — finally
  12. file — a tool
  13. mate — a friend
  14. face — to confront
  15. last — to go on
  16. capital — money
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. last — final

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