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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. fall — the season
  3. ball — a dance
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. face — to point toward
  8. rash — a series
  9. capital — a city
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. capital — money
  17. rash — hasty
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. face — to confront
  24. ball — a great time

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