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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: season · capital · foot · key · pop · bowl · rush · face

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. face — to confront
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. foot — a measure
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. key — for a lock
  12. pop — soda
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. pop — to visit
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. capital — money
  17. pop — music
  18. key — in music
  19. rush — hurry
  20. face — part of the head
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. face — to point toward
  23. season — in sport
  24. key — the most important part

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