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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 120 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: leaves · capital · foot · hand · content · mine · kid · face

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. hand — help
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. face — part of the head
  9. capital — money
  10. content — the amount
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mine — for digging
  13. foot — a measure
  14. capital — a city
  15. face — to point toward
  16. content — happy
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. kid — child
  20. face — to confront
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. foot — part of the body

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