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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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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to confront
  5. mark — a grade
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. capital — a city
  9. swing — music
  10. capital — money
  11. face — to point toward
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. root — the cause
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. root — of a plant
  17. band — a ring
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. swing — to play on
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. root — of a word
  22. mark — a trace
  23. swing — in golf
  24. mine — for digging

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