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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. present — the time now
  4. rest — a break
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — to point toward
  7. capital — money
  8. rest — what's left
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cold — not warm
  11. firm — a company
  12. content — the amount
  13. cold — an illness
  14. capital — a city
  15. rest — what's left
  16. drill — army training
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. present — there
  19. face — part of the head
  20. firm — decided
  21. content — happy
  22. present — a gift
  23. firm — steady
  24. drill — a practice

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