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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bore — to tire
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. capital — money
  8. drill — army training
  9. capital — a city
  10. bore — to drill
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. face — to confront
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. lie — to recline
  17. game — a match
  18. mine — for digging
  19. drill — the tool
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. drill — a practice
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. coach — a trainer

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