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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. face — to point toward
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. face — to confront
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. spring — the season
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. kick — in football
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. plane — a tool
  21. mate — a friend
  22. pound — a weight
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a partner

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