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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: face · march · pop · arm · bowl · perch · capital · mug

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. capital — money
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. mug — a cup
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. capital — a city
  9. pop — music
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. perch — the fish
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. pop — soda
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. march — the month
  18. mug — to rob
  19. pop — to visit
  20. march — music
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. march — the month
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mug — a face

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