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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. perch — the fish
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pass — a permit
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. rush — hurry
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. dip — to sink
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. nail — for a hammer

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