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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: present · wind · arm · face · vault · bat · ball · capital

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. present — there
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ball — a dance
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. face — to point toward
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. bat — the animal
  11. present — a gift
  12. face — part of the head
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. capital — a city
  17. present — the time now
  18. capital — money
  19. ball — a great time
  20. vault — a safe
  21. face — to confront
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. arm — a part of something

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