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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rest — what's left
  4. wake — a trail
  5. game — wild animals
  6. capital — a city
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. club — a group
  9. face — to point toward
  10. sharp — clever
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. rest — what's left
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. capital — money
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. game — a match
  18. face — part of the head
  19. rest — a break
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. club — for golf
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. club — for dancing

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