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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 116 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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. shower — rain
  4. season — in sport
  5. track — a song
  6. current — of water
  7. season — of the year
  8. shower — to wash
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. hand — help
  12. ball — a dance
  13. track — to keep track
  14. capital — money
  15. current — happening now
  16. ball — a great time
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. capital — a city
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. track — a path
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. current — electric
  24. hand — in cards

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