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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: bowl · capital · face · toast · swing · mouse · sharp · ground

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. capital — money
  3. swing — to play on
  4. ground — a position
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. swing — music
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. capital — a city
  11. ground — the earth
  12. face — to point toward
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. sharp — clever
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. ground — crushed
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. face — part of the head
  21. toast — bread
  22. face — to confront
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. toast — the most admired

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