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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. face — part of the head
  3. swing — to play on
  4. face — to confront
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. face — to point toward
  9. swing — music
  10. prune — to trim
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bear — the animal
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. prune — to trim
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. capital — money
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bear — the animal
  20. swing — in golf
  21. wake — a trail
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. capital — a big letter

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