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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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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: face · suit · clip · swing · capital · rock · season · cell

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. capital — a city
  3. season — in sport
  4. face — to confront
  5. suit — clothes
  6. rock — music
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. swing — to play on
  9. capital — money
  10. suit — in cards
  11. season — of the year
  12. cell — a phone
  13. suit — to fit
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. cell — in biology
  17. clip — to cut
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. swing — in golf
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. face — part of the head
  23. swing — music
  24. rock — a stone

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