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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. scale — in music
  3. face — to confront
  4. capital — a city
  5. scale — size or range
  6. face — part of the head
  7. fall — the season
  8. capital — money
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. root — the cause
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. root — of a plant
  13. fall — to drop
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bear — the animal
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bear — the animal
  19. fall — to drop
  20. spring — the season
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. root — of a word
  24. wave — with your hand

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