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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. face — part of the head
  3. capital — money
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — a hole
  9. face — to point toward
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a trace
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. game — wild animals
  14. present — a gift
  15. bat — the animal
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. face — to confront
  19. pit — in a race
  20. capital — a city
  21. present — there
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. mark — a grade
  24. game — a match

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