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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. face — to confront
  8. saw — the tool
  9. band — a music group
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. capital — a city
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. clip — a video
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to point toward
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. band — a ring

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