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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 116 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: ground · bowl · track · net · cell · squash · face · capital

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  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. track — to keep track
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. track — a song
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. capital — money
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. capital — a city
  11. face — part of the head
  12. squash — to crush
  13. net — in sport
  14. track — a path
  15. net — after costs
  16. squash — the sport
  17. face — to confront
  18. cell — a phone
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. cell — in biology
  22. ground — a position
  23. net — for catching
  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