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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 116 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. face — to point toward
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. root — the cause
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. march — the month
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cell — a phone
  12. fork — in a road
  13. root — of a word
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. capital — money
  16. root — of a plant
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. cell — in biology
  20. march — music
  21. capital — a city
  22. face — to confront
  23. rock — a stone
  24. march — the month

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