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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: rash · face · clip · arm · perch · capital · staff · bowl

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. capital — money
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. face — part of the head
  8. rash — a series
  9. clip — to cut
  10. staff — a stick
  11. clip — for paper
  12. face — to point toward
  13. staff — employees
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. clip — a video
  16. rash — hasty
  17. capital — a city
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. staff — employees
  24. rash — on the skin

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