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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. face — to point toward
  3. charge — in control
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. present — there
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. charge — electricity
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. present — a gift
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. band — a ring
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. face — to confront
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. charge — a price
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wound — an injury
  21. face — part of the head
  22. present — the time now
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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