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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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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 · band · capital · nail · foot · fall · pop · face

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. hand — in cards
  4. capital — money
  5. foot — a measure
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. face — to point toward
  9. band — a ring
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. face — part of the head
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pop — soda
  17. band — a music group
  18. capital — a city
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pop — music
  22. hand — help
  23. face — to confront
  24. pop — to visit

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