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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: capital · shower · ruler · perch · content · race

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. capital — a city
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. content — happy
  7. perch — the fish
  8. race — the arms race
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. race — a contest
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. capital — money
  16. content — the amount
  17. shower — rain
  18. race — humankind

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