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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. shower — rain
  3. rest — what's left
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. rest — what's left
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. board — to get on
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. board — a committee
  13. capital — a city
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. band — a ring
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. shower — to wash
  18. band — a music group
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. capital — money
  24. fan — a supporter

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