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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. face — to point toward
  3. capital — money
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. band — a music group
  6. scale — in music
  7. content — the amount
  8. march — music
  9. capital — a city
  10. march — the month
  11. band — a ring
  12. march — the month
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. scale — size or range
  15. face — part of the head
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. face — to confront
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. wave — with your hand

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