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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wound — an injury
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. rest — what's left
  9. lean — thin
  10. wound — an injury
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — to bend
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rest — a break
  16. capital — a city
  17. season — in sport
  18. capital — money
  19. shower — to wash
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. season — of the year
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rest — what's left

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