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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: shower · capital · bay · wound · race · deal

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. capital — a city
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — to wash
  6. deal — to handle
  7. shower — rain
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. race — humankind
  15. wound — an injury
  16. race — the arms race
  17. capital — money
  18. race — a contest

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