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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bowl · bat · bark · row · rash · cue · capital · shower

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. row — to paddle
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rash — hasty
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rash — a series
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. capital — a city
  15. cue — a signal
  16. cue — for pool
  17. shower — rain
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. cue — a hint
  23. shower — to wash
  24. row — a line

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