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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · present · shower · wind · chip · cap

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. chip — for betting
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. mate — a partner
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mate — to breed
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mate — a friend
  10. present — there
  11. chip — to eat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — of ice
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — rain
  17. cap — a hat
  18. present — a gift

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