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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. firm — a company
  3. spell — magic
  4. face — part of the head
  5. spell — a short time
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — after costs
  10. face — to point toward
  11. spell — letters
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cap — a lid
  15. firm — decided
  16. capital — money
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. face — to confront
  20. firm — steady
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — of ice

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