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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. face — to confront
  3. mark — a grade
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. face — to point toward
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. capital — money
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bass — low music
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. capital — a city
  13. clip — to cut
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. bass — the fish
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pound — a weight
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. mark — a trace
  23. face — part of the head
  24. clip — a video

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