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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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. current — happening now
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — to crush
  8. capital — a city
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. rash — hasty
  12. face — to confront
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. scale — in music
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. scale — size or range
  20. face — to point toward
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. rash — a series
  23. current — of water
  24. current — electric

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