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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: land · lean · arm · cap · clip · shower · wave · face

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. clip — for paper
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — rain
  12. face — part of the head
  13. cap — of ice
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. land — a country
  16. shower — to wash
  17. clip — a video
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — a hat
  20. face — to confront
  21. land — ground
  22. lean — thin
  23. face — to point toward
  24. lean — to bend

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