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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 120 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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. pit — a hole
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. face — to confront
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. mate — to breed
  11. capital — a city
  12. cell — in biology
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. face — to point toward
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. face — part of the head
  17. mate — a partner
  18. capital — money
  19. hand — help
  20. pit — in a race
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mate — a friend
  24. hand — in cards

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