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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. capital — a city
  3. net — after costs
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. rest — a break
  6. bulb — for light
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bulb — for light
  10. rest — what's left
  11. net — for catching
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. face — to confront
  14. net — in sport
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. capital — money
  18. bulb — of a plant

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