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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 · toast · shower · jam · saw · race · prune · net

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. saw — the tool
  3. net — in sport
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. prune — to trim
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — humankind
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. net — after costs
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. prune — to trim
  13. net — for catching
  14. shower — rain
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. race — the arms race
  19. toast — bread
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. capital — a city
  22. saw — the tool
  23. capital — money
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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