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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  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 — part of the head
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. content — happy
  5. capital — money
  6. face — to confront
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — hasty
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — for digging
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. pass — a permit
  21. march — music
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. content — the amount
  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