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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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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: foot · clip · face · wave · wax · branch · bat · capital

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. clip — a video
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. bat — the animal
  11. capital — a city
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wax — to grow
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. capital — money
  16. face — to confront
  17. branch — a division
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. capital — a big letter

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