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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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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: rest · saw · race · chest · plane · shower · capital · hide

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — the arms race
  6. chest — of your body
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rest — what's left
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. rest — what's left
  12. shower — to wash
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. rest — a break
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. shower — rain
  19. capital — a city
  20. chest — a box
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. race — a contest

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