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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.

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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: hide · face · deal · land · sharp · track · capital · fork

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. capital — a city
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. land — a country
  6. capital — money
  7. deal — to handle
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. face — to point toward
  11. sharp — clever
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. land — to come down
  15. track — to keep track
  16. land — ground
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — part of the head
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. track — a path
  23. track — a song
  24. fork — in a road

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