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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. track — a song
  6. game — wild animals
  7. face — part of the head
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. track — a path
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. face — to point toward
  13. game — a match
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. face — to confront
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. capital — a city
  21. bass — the fish
  22. fall — the season
  23. bass — low music
  24. track — to keep track

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