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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. face — to confront
  3. capital — money
  4. row — a line
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. face — part of the head
  9. capital — a city
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. face — to point toward
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — in sport
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. row — to paddle
  23. net — for catching
  24. toast — bread

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