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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
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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: wind · wound · capital · present · spell · hand · face · object

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — part of the head
  3. present — the time now
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. hand — help
  9. spell — letters
  10. wind — moving air
  11. present — a gift
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — a short time
  14. present — there
  15. object — an aim
  16. wound — an injury
  17. capital — money
  18. wind — moving air
  19. object — to protest
  20. object — a thing
  21. face — to confront
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  24. hand — 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