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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. capital — money
  3. spell — magic
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. spell — letters
  6. clip — for paper
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. board — to get on
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. board — a committee
  14. deal — to handle
  15. capital — a city
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. clip — a video
  18. fork — in a road
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. clip — to cut
  23. shower — rain
  24. spell — a short time

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