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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. season — of the year
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. dip — to sink
  6. face — part of the head
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. board — to get on
  9. last — to go on
  10. track — to keep track
  11. bulb — for light
  12. track — a song
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. board — a committee
  15. last — finally
  16. capital — a city
  17. track — a path
  18. season — in sport
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. capital — money
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. bulb — for light
  23. face — to confront
  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