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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. face — to confront
  3. cell — in biology
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. band — a ring
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. pit — a hole
  11. capital — a city
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. wind — moving air
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — part of the head
  20. pit — in a race
  21. capital — money
  22. dip — to sink
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. band — a music group

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