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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. root — of a word
  3. face — to confront
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. capital — money
  6. face — part of the head
  7. cell — a phone
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — in football
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. mug — to rob
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mug — a face
  15. root — the cause
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. wound — an injury
  19. face — to point toward
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. root — of a plant
  22. mug — a cup
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wound — an injury

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