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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: wave · kid · present · capital · shower · snap

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. capital — a city
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. kid — child
  7. present — the time now
  8. kid — to tease
  9. snap — to click
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. present — there
  14. shower — to wash
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. shower — rain
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. capital — money

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