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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. cell — in biology
  2. capital — a city
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. cell — a phone
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. face — to point toward
  7. mate — a friend
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. mate — to breed
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. capital — money
  14. mate — a partner
  15. face — to confront
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bass — the fish
  18. kid — to tease
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bass — low music
  23. wound — an injury
  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