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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: hand · hide · capital · present · game · lean · face · spring

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. hand — help
  3. spring — of water
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. face — part of the head
  6. lean — thin
  7. capital — money
  8. game — wild animals
  9. present — a gift
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. game — a match
  12. present — the time now
  13. face — to point toward
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. capital — a city
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. spring — the season
  18. present — there
  19. hand — in cards
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. spring — a coil
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. lean — to bend
  24. face — to confront

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