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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. firm — a company
  4. board — to get on
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. face — to confront
  7. fall — the season
  8. capital — a city
  9. mine — for digging
  10. board — a committee
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. face — to point toward
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. firm — decided
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. fall — to drop
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. fall — to drop
  23. firm — steady
  24. face — part of the head

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