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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — part of the head
  6. snap — to click
  7. ground — the earth
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. court — of a king
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. ground — crushed
  15. net — for catching
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. capital — money
  18. court — of law
  19. stem — to come from
  20. ground — a position
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — in sport
  23. court — for sport
  24. leaves — lets stay

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