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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. capital — money
  3. season — in sport
  4. cold — an illness
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — to confront
  8. net — for catching
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. track — a song
  11. season — of the year
  12. capital — a city
  13. track — to keep track
  14. net — in sport
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rest — a break
  17. cold — not warm
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rest — what's left
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. net — after costs
  24. track — a path

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