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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. face — to confront
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. capital — a city
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. content — happy
  9. pass — a permit
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cold — an illness
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. craft — boats
  14. content — the amount
  15. toast — bread
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. face — to point toward
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. capital — money
  22. craft — a skill
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wake — before a funeral

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