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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. scale — in music
  3. spring — of water
  4. firm — a company
  5. face — to point toward
  6. spring — a coil
  7. tear — from crying
  8. firm — decided
  9. face — part of the head
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. scale — size or range
  12. capital — a city
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. wax — to grow
  15. face — to confront
  16. ball — a great time
  17. tear — to rip
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. tear — from crying
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. spring — the season
  23. ball — a dance
  24. capital — money

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