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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: shower · bore · rush · mine · ruler · capital · lean · jam

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. lean — to bend
  3. capital — money
  4. shower — to wash
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. bore — to drill
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bore — to tire
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. lean — thin
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. capital — a city
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. rush — hurry
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. shower — rain
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. rush — a thrill

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