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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. staff — a stick
  3. stock — shares
  4. chest — of your body
  5. ground — crushed
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. ball — a great time
  8. capital — a city
  9. stock — goods
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. rule — government
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. rule — a law
  15. face — part of the head
  16. capital — money
  17. staff — employees
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. face — to confront
  21. chest — of your body
  22. staff — employees
  23. ground — a position
  24. chest — a box

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