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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. drill — army training
  3. cold — an illness
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. capital — money
  7. cold — not warm
  8. season — of the year
  9. net — in sport
  10. can — a tin
  11. face — to point toward
  12. season — in sport
  13. drill — a practice
  14. can — to be able to
  15. capital — a city
  16. net — for catching
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. drill — the tool
  20. face — to confront
  21. net — after costs
  22. can — a tin
  23. hand — help
  24. capital — a big letter

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