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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — to confront
  3. capital — money
  4. mug — a cup
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. net — for catching
  7. mug — a face
  8. net — in sport
  9. file — a document
  10. mate — to breed
  11. file — a line of people
  12. capital — a city
  13. mug — to rob
  14. face — part of the head
  15. dip — to sink
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mate — a partner
  18. net — after costs
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. mate — a friend
  21. file — a tool
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — magic

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