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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. face — to point toward
  3. spell — letters
  4. face — to confront
  5. charge — electricity
  6. charge — a price
  7. ball — a dance
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bore — to tire
  10. spell — a short time
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. charge — in control
  14. spell — magic
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bore — to drill
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a music group
  22. ball — a great time
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. capital — money

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