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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · capital · current · leaves · face · ruler · squash · bore

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. capital — money
  3. current — of water
  4. capital — a city
  5. squash — the sport
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bore — to drill
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bore — to tire
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. face — part of the head
  18. cold — an illness
  19. current — happening now
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. current — electric
  24. leaves — lets stay

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