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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: face · capital · race · hand · plane · shower · bass · calf

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. plane — a tool
  5. face — to point toward
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. race — the arms race
  8. hand — help
  9. race — humankind
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. race — a contest
  14. shower — rain
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. face — to confront
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. shower — to wash
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bass — low music
  24. hand — in cards

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