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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. ground — a position
  4. capital — a city
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. capital — money
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. ground — the earth
  11. face — to point toward
  12. ground — crushed
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. tube — a container
  16. spring — of water
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. spring — a coil
  20. face — part of the head
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. spring — the season
  24. face — to confront

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