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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: face · net · jam · plane · pitcher · capital · chest · temple

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. capital — money
  4. net — in sport
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. chest — of your body
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. chest — a box
  11. net — after costs
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — part of the head
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. net — for catching
  16. plane — a tool
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. chest — of your body
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. face — to point toward
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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