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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 120 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. face — to confront
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. face — part of the head
  5. capital — a city
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. clip — a video
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. shower — to wash
  13. stock — shares
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. capital — money
  21. face — to point toward
  22. stock — goods
  23. foot — a measure
  24. stock — a soup base

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