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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: content · shower · rule · fine · cap · tear

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cap — of ice
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. content — happy
  6. fine — all right
  7. shower — rain
  8. rule — government
  9. cap — a lid
  10. tear — to rip
  11. shower — to wash
  12. fine — high quality
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rule — a law
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fine — a penalty

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