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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. face — to point toward
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. capital — a city
  7. deal — to handle
  8. hand — help
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. track — to keep track
  13. capital — money
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. track — a path
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. hand — in cards
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — part of the head

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