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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: capital · wake · fan · bound · clip · face · foot · fall

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. clip — for paper
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. bound — tied together
  8. fall — to drop
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bound — certain
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fall — the season
  19. wake — a trail
  20. clip — a video
  21. bound — obliged
  22. fall — to drop
  23. face — part of the head
  24. foot — a measure

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