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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. season — in sport
  4. scale — size or range
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. scale — in music
  7. capital — a city
  8. face — to confront
  9. capital — money
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. root — the cause
  12. season — of the year
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. root — of a plant
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. face — to point toward
  20. sharp — clever
  21. root — of a word
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. pass — a permit
  24. face — part of the head

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