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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · hide · firm · mine · capital · face

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. firm — steady
  8. field — a subject
  9. face — to confront
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. face — to point toward
  14. firm — decided
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. face — part of the head
  18. firm — a company

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