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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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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: pass · face · cold · stem · capital · race · key · plane

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. 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 — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. cold — an illness
  5. plane — a tool
  6. race — a contest
  7. capital — a city
  8. race — humankind
  9. face — to point toward
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. stem — to come from
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pass — a permit
  16. key — the most important part
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. capital — money
  19. cold — not warm
  20. key — in music
  21. race — the arms race
  22. key — for a lock
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. 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