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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. snap — to click
  5. pop — to visit
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. pop — music
  8. face — part of the head
  9. file — a tool
  10. face — to point toward
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. face — to confront
  16. capital — money
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. march — the month
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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