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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: chest · plane · pound · court · capital · face · kick · fan

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. court — of a king
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. face — part of the head
  6. court — of law
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. plane — a tool
  9. face — to point toward
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. capital — money
  13. court — for sport
  14. face — to confront
  15. chest — a box
  16. kick — in football
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. chest — of your body
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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