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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: roll · scale · capital · tear · shower · current · fan · mine

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mine — for digging
  3. tear — from crying
  4. shower — rain
  5. scale — in music
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. capital — money
  9. current — happening now
  10. roll — a cake
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. current — of water
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. current — electric
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. scale — size or range
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — on a roll

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