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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. lie — to recline
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. face — to point toward
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. capital — money
  10. face — to confront
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. face — part of the head
  15. cell — a phone
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. capital — a city
  18. kick — in football
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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