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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. capital — a city
  4. track — a song
  5. season — of the year
  6. track — a path
  7. scale — in music
  8. capital — money
  9. season — in sport
  10. track — to keep track
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. press — to push
  14. press — newspapers
  15. scale — size or range
  16. key — for a lock
  17. face — to confront
  18. key — in music
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. key — the most important part
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. press — a publisher
  23. bat — the animal
  24. face — to point toward

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