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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: craft · file · cold · plane · face · stem · capital · lash

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. face — part of the head
  3. file — a document
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. capital — a city
  8. face — to point toward
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. craft — boats
  12. stem — to come from
  13. face — to confront
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. capital — money
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. file — a line of people
  19. craft — a skill
  20. plane — a tool
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. craft — a handicraft

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