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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  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. land — to come down
  2. face — to point toward
  3. capital — a city
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. file — a line of people
  8. capital — money
  9. face — to confront
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mug — a cup
  14. mine — for digging
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. file — a document
  18. face — part of the head
  19. file — a tool
  20. mug — a face
  21. tear — from crying
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. mug — to rob
  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