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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. face — to confront
  5. mark — a trace
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. hand — help
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. mark — a grade
  17. hand — in cards
  18. capital — a city
  19. prune — to trim
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. prune — to trim
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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