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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — rain
  5. hand — in cards
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. field — a subject
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. wind — moving air
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. wind — moving 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