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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. capital — money
  3. band — a ring
  4. face — to confront
  5. tube — a container
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. net — after costs
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. band — a music group
  14. capital — a city
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. tube — the underground
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. dip — to sink
  19. snap — to click
  20. net — for catching
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. net — in sport

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