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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. plane — a tool
  7. mine — for digging
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. face — to confront
  11. capital — a city
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. capital — money
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. face — part of the head
  18. straw — a straw man

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