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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: face · capital · arm · mine · march · deal · wind · row

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. face — to point toward
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. march — the month
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. face — part of the head
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. march — music
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. march — the month
  13. wind — moving air
  14. row — a line
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. face — to confront
  18. capital — money
  19. deal — to handle
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. capital — a city
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wind — moving air

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