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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. saw — the tool
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. capital — money
  5. face — to confront
  6. field — a subject
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. date — the fruit
  12. capital — a city
  13. face — part of the head
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — hasty
  16. field — farmland
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. saw — the tool
  21. snap — to click
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. field — for sport
  24. date — on the calendar

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