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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: capital · mark · face · content · game · land · mine · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. content — the amount
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. game — wild animals
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. land — a country
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. land — ground
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. mine — for digging
  14. rash — a series
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. content — happy
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. capital — money
  19. mark — a grade
  20. face — to confront
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — a city
  23. rash — hasty
  24. land — to come down

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