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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 116 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. game — wild animals
  3. capital — a city
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. face — part of the head
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. game — a match
  9. content — happy
  10. staff — employees
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to tire
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. hand — in cards
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bore — to drill
  17. hand — help
  18. face — to point toward
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — a stick
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. content — the amount
  23. capital — money
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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