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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. mug — a face
  3. chest — of your body
  4. face — part of the head
  5. plane — a tool
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. chest — of your body
  8. face — to confront
  9. mug — to rob
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. mug — a cup
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. drill — a practice
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. snap — to click
  17. drill — army training
  18. chest — a box
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. capital — a city
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. capital — money
  23. drill — the tool
  24. face — to point toward

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