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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 116 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. club — a group
  4. lie — to recline
  5. club — for golf
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. face — part of the head
  8. capital — a city
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. face — to confront
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. club — for dancing
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fine — all right
  17. fine — high quality
  18. mine — for digging
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. capital — money
  21. staff — a stick
  22. wind — moving air
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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