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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: row · face · chip · lean · date · capital · clip · bowl

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — part of the head
  4. date — the fruit
  5. lean — thin
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. capital — money
  11. clip — a video
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. face — to confront
  14. clip — for paper
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. clip — to cut
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chip — to eat
  22. row — a line
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. capital — a city

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