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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: mug · game · face · clip · temple · snap · stock · capital

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. stock — goods
  3. capital — a city
  4. face — to point toward
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mug — a face
  8. face — part of the head
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mug — to rob
  13. face — to confront
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. game — wild animals
  18. snap — to click
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. stock — shares
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. capital — money
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — a video

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