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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 124 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. drill — a practice
  3. ground — the earth
  4. face — part of the head
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. ground — crushed
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — a tool
  11. drill — the tool
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. face — to confront
  16. ground — a position
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. face — to point toward
  19. mine — for digging
  20. drill — army training
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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