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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. face — to point toward
  5. march — the month
  6. face — to confront
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. march — music
  9. snap — to click
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bank — of a river
  12. march — the month
  13. capital — a city
  14. hand — help
  15. bank — for money
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. capital — money
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bank — for money

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