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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. face — part of the head
  4. mate — a friend
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — of ice
  7. face — to point toward
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mug — a cup
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mug — a face
  15. prune — to trim
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mate — a partner
  19. prune — to trim
  20. capital — a city
  21. cap — a lid
  22. chest — a box
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. chest — of your body

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