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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. face — to confront
  3. capital — money
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. net — for catching
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. net — after costs
  10. present — a gift
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. present — the time now
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — a measure
  15. mark — a grade
  16. face — part of the head
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mine — for digging
  19. net — in sport
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. present — there
  23. face — to point toward
  24. capital — a big letter

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