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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: wind · mark · perch · jam · pitcher · capital · mate · face

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. face — to point toward
  3. mark — a trace
  4. face — part of the head
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — to breed
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. wind — moving air
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. capital — a city
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. face — to confront
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. capital — money
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mate — a partner
  24. capital — a big letter

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