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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: clip · face · temple · capital · wax · bound · dip · row

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. clip — a video
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. capital — a city
  6. face — to confront
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bound — obliged
  10. dip — to sink
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. row — a line
  13. bound — tied together
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. face — to point toward
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bound — certain
  19. clip — for paper
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. wax — to grow
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wax — for sculpting

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