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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. spring — a coil
  4. face — to point toward
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. face — part of the head
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cue — a signal
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. rash — a series
  13. spring — the season
  14. cue — a hint
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cue — for pool
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. face — to confront
  19. board — a committee
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. chair — a leader
  22. board — to get on
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. rash — hasty

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