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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. face — to confront
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. face — to point toward
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. land — to come down
  8. face — part of the head
  9. land — a country
  10. row — to paddle
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. band — a music group
  13. land — ground
  14. band — a ring
  15. can — to be able to
  16. row — a line
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. can — a tin
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. can — a tin
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. leaves — lets stay

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