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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. face — part of the head
  4. mine — for digging
  5. club — a group
  6. capital — money
  7. last — to go on
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. club — for golf
  10. scale — size or range
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. club — for dancing
  13. last — final
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. capital — a city
  16. plane — a tool
  17. stock — goods
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. face — to confront
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. face — to point toward
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. last — finally

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