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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.

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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: cold · shower · bank · scale · plane · hand · object · face

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. bank — for money
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cold — not warm
  8. face — to point toward
  9. hand — help
  10. object — an aim
  11. shower — to wash
  12. object — to protest
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — of a river
  16. face — part of the head
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. hand — in cards
  19. shower — rain
  20. object — a thing
  21. face — to confront
  22. plane — a tool
  23. scale — in music
  24. cold — the Cold War

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