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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: cell · lie · face · rock · prune · capital · chip · pitch

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. face — to point toward
  4. rock — a stone
  5. capital — a city
  6. cell — a phone
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. chip — to eat
  9. face — part of the head
  10. chip — for betting
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rock — music
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. capital — money
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cell — in biology
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — completely
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. prune — the fruit

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