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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. capital — money
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. drill — the tool
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. kid — child
  8. face — to point toward
  9. capital — a city
  10. kid — to tease
  11. drill — army training
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. wake — a trail
  14. land — a country
  15. bank — of a river
  16. land — ground
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pit — in a race
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — for money
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. pit — a hole
  23. drill — a practice
  24. land — to come down

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