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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. face — to point toward
  3. shower — to wash
  4. face — part of the head
  5. spell — letters
  6. present — a gift
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. present — there
  9. shower — rain
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. spell — a short time
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. capital — money
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. present — the time now
  17. capital — a city
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. face — to confront
  21. spell — magic
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — thin
  24. coach — a trainer

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