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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — to point toward
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bear — the animal
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to click
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. scale — in music
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rock — music
  18. face — part of the head
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bat — the animal
  22. scale — size or range
  23. capital — a city
  24. rock — a stone

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