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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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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: deal · face · capital · race · branch · club · shower · pass

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for golf
  3. race — the arms race
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. shower — rain
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. deal — to handle
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. face — part of the head
  11. shower — to wash
  12. face — to confront
  13. club — for dancing
  14. race — humankind
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. pass — a permit
  20. face — to point toward
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. branch — a division
  24. race — a contest

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