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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: cold · date · capital · lash · chip · fall · saw · face

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. capital — a city
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. face — to confront
  11. date — the fruit
  12. face — part of the head
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chip — for betting
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. fall — the season
  17. cold — an illness
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. face — to point toward
  21. fall — to drop
  22. saw — the tool
  23. fall — to drop
  24. chip — to eat

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