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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: face · last · capital · cabinet · wound · ruler · chip · mark

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. capital — money
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. mark — a grade
  11. face — to point toward
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. chip — to eat
  15. mark — a trace
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. chip — for betting
  20. wound — an injury
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. face — to confront
  23. capital — a city
  24. last — finally

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