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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. ground — a position
  4. capital — a city
  5. clip — for paper
  6. ground — crushed
  7. capital — money
  8. clip — a video
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. file — a document
  11. ground — the earth
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. file — a tool
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. face — to point toward
  22. file — a line of people
  23. face — to confront
  24. fan — to cool the air

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