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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. capital — a city
  3. shower — rain
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. spell — letters
  8. stand — to bear
  9. cap — a hat
  10. shower — to wash
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. capital — money
  13. cap — a lid
  14. wind — moving air
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. cap — of ice
  20. spell — magic
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bulb — for light
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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