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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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. chip — to eat
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. capital — money
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. chip — for betting
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. shower — rain
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cold — an illness
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. fan — to cool the air

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