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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's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. face — to point toward
  3. season — in sport
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. content — happy
  7. face — to confront
  8. pop — to visit
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. pit — a hole
  11. season — of the year
  12. wake — a trail
  13. pop — soda
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — in a race
  16. face — part of the head
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. capital — a city
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. capital — money
  23. pop — music
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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