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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: plane · shower · chair · object · capital · pass · trunk · chest

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. chest — a box
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. object — a thing
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — an aim
  8. capital — a city
  9. chest — of your body
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. chair — a leader
  13. pass — a permit
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. capital — money
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pass — to spend time

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