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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 120 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: capital · perch · face · snap · bank · plane · degree · fan

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. face — to confront
  3. bank — of a river
  4. bank — for money
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. plane — a tool
  7. degree — from a university
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. face — part of the head
  10. snap — to click
  11. degree — temperature
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a city
  14. face — to point toward
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bank — for money
  18. perch — the fish
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. degree — an amount
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. plane — an aircraft

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