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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. spell — letters
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — the fish
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. mate — a partner
  8. capital — a city
  9. mate — a friend
  10. spell — magic
  11. face — to point toward
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. face — to confront
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bass — low music
  16. saw — the tool
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. saw — the tool
  20. spell — a short time
  21. capital — money
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. face — part of the head
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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