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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: bear · mug · file · band · race · face · root · capital

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. file — a tool
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. root — the cause
  8. file — a document
  9. face — to confront
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. face — to point toward
  13. band — a ring
  14. file — a line of people
  15. band — a music group
  16. mug — a cup
  17. race — humankind
  18. root — of a word
  19. capital — money
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. root — of a plant
  23. mug — to rob
  24. band — a rubber band

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