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

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. capital — a city
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. game — wild animals
  5. key — in music
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. game — a match
  10. bulb — for light
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — of the year
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. season — in sport
  17. bulb — for light
  18. key — for a lock
  19. key — the most important part
  20. capital — money
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. shower — rain

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