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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. object — a thing
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. capital — money
  7. wind — moving air
  8. object — to protest
  9. face — to point toward
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mark — a trace
  12. stand — to bear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. capital — a city
  18. face — part of the head
  19. mark — a grade
  20. object — an aim
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. wind — moving air

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