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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.

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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 · rash · shower · hide · mark · spring · kid · fan

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. spring — a coil
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. capital — a city
  8. kid — to tease
  9. mark — a grade
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. spring — the season
  12. rash — a series
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. spring — of water
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. capital — money
  19. shower — to wash
  20. mark — a trace
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — on the skin

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