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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 · board · can · fall · bass · pound · tear

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. fall — the season
  4. tear — from crying
  5. can — a tin
  6. capital — a city
  7. bass — low music
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. pound — a weight
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. can — to be able to
  13. can — a tin
  14. fall — to drop
  15. shower — rain
  16. capital — money
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. board — a committee
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. shower — to wash
  21. board — to get on
  22. tear — to rip
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bass — the fish

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