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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. root — of a word
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. root — the cause
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. face — to point toward
  8. drill — army training
  9. capital — a city
  10. face — part of the head
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. root — of a plant
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. season — of the year
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. drill — the tool
  21. capital — money
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. drill — a practice

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