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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.

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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: fan · face · bear · capital · root · mark · rule · cell

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. face — to confront
  3. capital — a city
  4. rule — government
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cell — a phone
  9. root — of a plant
  10. face — to point toward
  11. root — of a word
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. capital — money
  15. mark — a grade
  16. cell — in biology
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. root — the cause
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bear — the animal
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. mark — a trace
  24. face — part of the head

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