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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. bank — for money
  5. capital — a city
  6. mine — for digging
  7. fine — all right
  8. content — the amount
  9. spell — a short time
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. fine — high quality
  13. bank — of a river
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bank — for money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — to confront
  20. capital — money
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — happy
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — letters

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