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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — rain
  3. capital — a city
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — shares
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. tube — the underground
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bore — to tire
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. branch — a division
  18. capital — money
  19. tube — a container
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. sharp — clever
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. wound — an injury
  24. stock — a soup base

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