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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. face — part of the head
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. ground — a position
  7. face — to point toward
  8. last — to go on
  9. rash — a series
  10. ground — the earth
  11. rash — hasty
  12. last — final
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. ground — crushed
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. fork — in a road
  17. capital — a city
  18. club — for golf
  19. club — a group
  20. capital — money
  21. club — for dancing
  22. face — to confront
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. last — finally

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