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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. wind — moving air
  3. roll — a list
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. face — part of the head
  6. capital — money
  7. face — to point toward
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. clip — to cut
  11. face — to confront
  12. wind — moving air
  13. clip — a video
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. cell — a phone
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. capital — a city
  20. cell — in biology
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. foot — a measure
  23. roll — a cake
  24. wind — to turn a key

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