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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: chest · rock · face · race · scale · capital · spell · shower

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. face — to point toward
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. rock — music
  7. scale — in music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. capital — money
  10. spell — a short time
  11. rock — a stone
  12. spell — letters
  13. race — humankind
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. race — the arms race
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. face — to confront
  21. race — a contest
  22. spell — magic
  23. face — part of the head
  24. scale — size or range

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