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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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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: cell · fall · drill · capital · deal · face

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. face — to point toward
  4. fall — to drop
  5. deal — to handle
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. fall — the season
  9. capital — money
  10. face — part of the head
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. face — to confront
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. drill — a practice
  15. fall — to drop
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cell — in biology
  18. capital — a city

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