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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. dip — to sink
  3. last — to go on
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. tube — a container
  7. last — finally
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. face — part of the head
  10. kick — in football
  11. spell — a short time
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. spell — letters
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. capital — a city
  19. deal — to handle
  20. last — final
  21. tube — the underground
  22. capital — money
  23. spell — magic
  24. face — to point toward

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