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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.

Words on the sheet
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: land · kick · bark · capital · face · present · scale · board

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. face — to confront
  3. capital — a city
  4. face — part of the head
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. scale — size or range
  7. present — a gift
  8. capital — money
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. present — there
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. land — a country
  15. bark — to shout
  16. board — a committee
  17. present — the time now
  18. board — to get on
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. face — to point toward
  21. land — to come down
  22. scale — in music
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. land — ground

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