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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bowl · capital · fork · rush · clip · arm · mug · face

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. face — to point toward
  5. mug — a cup
  6. fork — in a road
  7. clip — a video
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mug — a face
  11. rush — hurry
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. capital — money
  15. face — part of the head
  16. mug — to rob
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. clip — to cut
  21. face — to confront
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. capital — a city
  24. arm — part of the body

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