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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: clip · bay · face · pound · capital · content · chair · plane

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. chair — a leader
  4. plane — a tool
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — money
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. capital — a city
  14. face — part of the head
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. clip — to cut
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. content — happy
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. clip — a video
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. clip — for paper

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