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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 120 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: plane · shower · club · game · capital · pass

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. pass — a permit
  3. game — wild animals
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. club — for dancing
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. capital — money
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. capital — a city
  15. game — a match
  16. club — for golf
  17. shower — rain
  18. plane — a tool

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