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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: wind · land · hide · content · lie · mate · capital · arm

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. land — a country
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. land — ground
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. land — to come down
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. mate — a partner
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mate — a friend
  15. content — happy
  16. lie — to recline
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. mate — to breed
  22. capital — money
  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