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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: shower · face · capital · bark · club · snap · rush · cap

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. snap — to click
  5. shower — to wash
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. shower — rain
  9. bark — to shout
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — money
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — a hat
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cap — of ice
  19. club — for dancing
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. face — to point toward
  23. rush — hurry
  24. face — part of the head

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