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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. staff — employees
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. ground — the earth
  5. face — to confront
  6. pound — a weight
  7. tube — a container
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mine — for digging
  11. staff — a stick
  12. tube — the underground
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. ground — a position
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. staff — employees
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. stem — to come from
  23. ground — crushed
  24. face — to point toward

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