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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bound — certain
  5. hand — in cards
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. bound — obliged
  8. mate — a friend
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. mate — a partner
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to confront
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cap — a hat
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. hand — help
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bound — tied together
  23. branch — a division
  24. fall — the season

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