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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · mine · dip · bay · clip · capital · face · pop

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. march — the month
  5. pop — music
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. pop — to visit
  8. face — to confront
  9. clip — for paper
  10. march — music
  11. clip — a video
  12. mine — for digging
  13. face — part of the head
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. face — to point toward
  21. pop — soda
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. march — the month
  24. capital — money

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