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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: wake · capital · face · tube · stick · shower · club · racket

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. tube — a container
  4. wake — a trail
  5. club — for golf
  6. face — to point toward
  7. shower — rain
  8. capital — a city
  9. tube — the underground
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to confront
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — a group
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. capital — money

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