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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: pop · plane · game · season · drill · capital · face · content

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. pop — soda
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. drill — the tool
  6. drill — army training
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. game — a match
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — to visit
  13. content — happy
  14. face — to point toward
  15. drill — a practice
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. season — of the year
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. capital — a city
  21. plane — a tool
  22. content — the amount
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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