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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. cap — a hat
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. clip — to cut
  13. capital — a city
  14. rash — hasty
  15. clip — for paper
  16. staff — employees
  17. capital — money
  18. rash — a series
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cap — of ice
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. clip — a video
  23. face — to confront
  24. toast — bread

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