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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: capital · face · mug · cap · march · bass · shower · file

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. march — music
  3. cap — a lid
  4. file — a tool
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mug — a face
  7. face — to confront
  8. cap — a hat
  9. capital — a city
  10. face — part of the head
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. face — to point toward
  13. file — a line of people
  14. shower — rain
  15. bass — low music
  16. shower — to wash
  17. march — the month
  18. capital — money
  19. march — the month
  20. file — a document
  21. mug — to rob
  22. mug — a cup
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — the instrument

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