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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. charge — electricity
  4. row — a line
  5. date — the fruit
  6. face — to point toward
  7. firm — a company
  8. charge — a price
  9. capital — a city
  10. spring — of water
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. charge — in control
  14. mate — to breed
  15. firm — decided
  16. capital — money
  17. spring — a coil
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — a friend
  20. firm — steady
  21. row — to paddle
  22. spring — the season
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. date — on the calendar

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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