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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: pop · wind · ground · face · capital · drill · mug · mine

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pop — music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — army training
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mug — a cup
  10. mug — a face
  11. capital — a city
  12. face — to point toward
  13. drill — the tool
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. capital — money
  17. face — to confront
  18. pop — soda
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. ground — the earth
  21. face — part of the head
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wind — to turn a key

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