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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mug — a face
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. firm — a company
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. firm — decided
  11. rock — a stone
  12. mug — a cup
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. capital — money
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. kid — child
  17. date — the fruit
  18. face — to confront
  19. capital — a city
  20. kid — to tease
  21. rock — music
  22. face — to point toward
  23. firm — steady
  24. mug — to rob

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