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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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Word bank
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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: wind · capital · shower · stand · craft · lie

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. lie — to recline
  3. craft — boats
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. shower — rain
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. craft — a skill
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. capital — money
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. capital — a city
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. stand — to bear
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lie — an untruth

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