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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: cell · capital · ball · rock · net · shower

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. shower — to wash
  5. capital — a city
  6. net — in sport
  7. rock — music
  8. shower — rain
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. ball — a great time
  12. rock — a stone
  13. capital — money
  14. net — for catching
  15. cell — a phone
  16. ball — a dance
  17. cell — in biology
  18. net — after costs

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