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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bank — for money
  4. wind — moving air
  5. drill — army training
  6. face — to point toward
  7. stock — shares
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. stock — goods
  13. bank — for money
  14. drill — a practice
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. season — of the year
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bank — of a river
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. drill — the tool
  23. season — in sport
  24. face — part of the head

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