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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  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. face — to point toward
  2. spell — a short time
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. band — a ring
  9. mine — for digging
  10. can — a tin
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. ground — the earth
  14. can — a tin
  15. ground — crushed
  16. face — to confront
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. dip — to sink
  19. capital — a city
  20. band — a music group
  21. capital — money
  22. can — to be able to
  23. ground — a position
  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