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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.

Make a worksheet

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: lean · capital · face · season · perch · mine · drill · chair

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mine — for digging
  3. lean — thin
  4. face — part of the head
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. season — in sport
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. perch — the fish
  9. season — of the year
  10. capital — money
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. face — to confront
  13. chair — a leader
  14. capital — a city
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. lean — to bend
  17. drill — the tool
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. drill — army training
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. drill — a practice
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. face — to point toward
  24. capital — a big letter

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