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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. board — to get on
  3. content — happy
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. foot — a measure
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. capital — money
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. face — to confront
  12. wind — moving air
  13. content — the amount
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. face — to point toward
  16. capital — a city
  17. board — a committee
  18. face — part of the head
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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