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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. rash — hasty
  3. face — part of the head
  4. drill — a practice
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. field — a subject
  10. chair — a leader
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. kick — in football
  13. face — to point toward
  14. wake — a trail
  15. face — to confront
  16. field — for sport
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool
  19. rash — a series
  20. capital — money
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. field — farmland
  24. chair — a professorship

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