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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. shower — rain
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. shower — to wash
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — army training
  7. swing — in golf
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — money
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. rock — music
  12. drill — the tool
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. swing — music
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — humankind
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. race — the arms race
  22. capital — a city
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. rock — a stone

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