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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 116 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. cap — a lid
  3. capital — a city
  4. stock — shares
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. face — to confront
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. object — to protest
  9. capital — money
  10. shower — rain
  11. cap — of ice
  12. squash — the sport
  13. object — a thing
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. pass — a permit
  17. object — an aim
  18. stock — goods
  19. squash — to crush
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. cap — a hat
  24. face — to point toward

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