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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: lie · spell · stock · shower · kid · capital · bat · rush

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. shower — rain
  4. spell — letters
  5. shower — to wash
  6. spell — magic
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. capital — money
  10. spell — a short time
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. kid — child
  13. rush — hurry
  14. kid — to tease
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. stock — goods
  19. lie — to recline
  20. capital — a city
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — the animal
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. capital — a big letter

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