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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. capital — a city
  3. object — a thing
  4. face — part of the head
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. cell — a phone
  9. season — in sport
  10. object — to protest
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. object — an aim
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. face — to point toward
  21. capital — money
  22. cell — in biology
  23. branch — a division
  24. face — to confront

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