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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: fall · fork · staff · stand · capital · face · bass · shower

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. face — part of the head
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. staff — a stick
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. staff — employees
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stand — to bear
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fall — the season
  16. shower — to wash
  17. staff — employees
  18. face — to point toward
  19. capital — money
  20. shower — rain
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. fork — in a road
  23. face — to confront
  24. stand — on your feet

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