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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — to protest
  3. prune — to trim
  4. face — to point toward
  5. fine — all right
  6. season — in sport
  7. fine — high quality
  8. object — a thing
  9. season — of the year
  10. face — to confront
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. track — a song
  15. mine — for digging
  16. track — to keep track
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. track — a path
  20. prune — to trim
  21. face — part of the head
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. capital — a city

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