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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: wound · foot · mouse · wake · file · capital · arm · band

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  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. foot — part of the body
  2. foot — a measure
  3. file — a document
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. capital — a city
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wound — an injury
  12. file — a tool
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. capital — money
  16. band — a ring
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. wake — a trail
  23. file — a line of people
  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