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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. capital — a city
  3. ground — the earth
  4. band — a music group
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. band — a ring
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. hand — help
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. face — to confront
  13. capital — money
  14. face — part of the head
  15. saw — the tool
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. ground — crushed
  21. hand — in cards
  22. saw — the tool
  23. pitch — completely
  24. face — to point toward

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