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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to point toward
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. capital — a city
  7. chest — of your body
  8. face — to confront
  9. charge — electricity
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. chest — of your body
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. saw — the tool
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. saw — the tool
  20. charge — in control
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. capital — money
  24. chest — a box

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