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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. pop — to visit
  3. tube — a container
  4. pitch — completely
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. court — of law
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. capital — a city
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. tear — from crying
  11. court — of a king
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — to point toward
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. tear — from crying
  17. capital — money
  18. tube — the underground
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pop — soda
  22. chest — of your body
  23. court — for sport
  24. pop — music

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