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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 116 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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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: face · ruler · chair · wake · capital · shower

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. capital — a city
  5. wake — a trail
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. chair — a leader
  9. shower — rain
  10. capital — money
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. face — to confront
  15. shower — to wash
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. face — part of the head
  18. capital — a big letter

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