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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: mine · pitch · track · game · file · capital · fine · face

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. face — to point toward
  3. capital — money
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. fine — high quality
  7. game — wild animals
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. capital — a city
  12. file — a document
  13. track — to keep track
  14. face — to confront
  15. mine — for digging
  16. track — a path
  17. face — part of the head
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. fine — all right
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. game — a match
  24. fine — a penalty

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