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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. bear — the animal
  3. ground — the earth
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. bear — the animal
  8. mug — a face
  9. ground — a position
  10. mug — a cup
  11. mine — for digging
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. face — to confront
  16. capital — a city
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. face — part of the head
  19. capital — money
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mug — to rob
  22. ground — crushed
  23. hand — in cards
  24. roll — a list

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