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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: leaves · safe · hand · chest · face · capital · current · foot

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. chest — of your body
  4. current — electric
  5. current — happening now
  6. face — to confront
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. capital — money
  9. face — to point toward
  10. foot — a measure
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. current — of water
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  24. face — part of the head

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