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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
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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: net · deal · face · mark · capital · press · last · bowl

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. press — newspapers
  9. face — part of the head
  10. capital — money
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — after costs
  14. face — to point toward
  15. mark — a trace
  16. last — final
  17. press — a publisher
  18. face — to confront
  19. last — to go on
  20. deal — to handle
  21. press — to push
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. last — finally

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