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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. last — to go on
  3. mate — a friend
  4. track — a song
  5. ground — crushed
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mate — a partner
  8. capital — money
  9. track — to keep track
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. mate — to breed
  17. last — final
  18. track — a path
  19. ground — the earth
  20. last — finally
  21. ground — a position
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. capital — a city

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