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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. face — to point toward
  4. capital — money
  5. swing — music
  6. spring — a coil
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. chair — a leader
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. face — part of the head
  13. scale — size or range
  14. swing — in golf
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. spring — the season
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. scale — in music
  19. capital — a city
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. perch — the fish
  22. spring — of water
  23. swing — to play on
  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