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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 116 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: wound · court · capital · shower · bulb · hide · rush · cue

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. court — for sport
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bulb — for light
  7. capital — a city
  8. cue — for pool
  9. court — of a king
  10. cue — a signal
  11. court — of law
  12. capital — money
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rush — hurry
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cue — a hint
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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