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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: cap · fork · last · foot · bear · roll · face · season

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. cap — a hat
  4. last — finally
  5. cap — a lid
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. cap — of ice
  8. roll — a cake
  9. face — part of the head
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. last — final
  12. face — to point toward
  13. last — to go on
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. fork — in a road
  16. season — of the year
  17. roll — a list
  18. foot — a measure
  19. season — in sport
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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