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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: scale · trunk · capital · clip · plane · face · rash · wave

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. plane — a tool
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — part of the head
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. scale — size or range
  10. clip — a video
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. face — to point toward
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. scale — in music
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. rash — hasty
  24. plane — in geometry

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