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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: shower · face · club · bass · lash · perch · patient · capital

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. face — to point toward
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. club — a group
  12. perch — the fish
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a city
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — for golf
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. face — part of the head
  19. shower — rain
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. shower — to wash
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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