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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: kid · fall · capital · craft · rock · roll · bore · shower

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. fall — to drop
  3. craft — a skill
  4. kid — child
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. capital — money
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bore — to drill
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. roll — a cake
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. rock — music
  17. capital — a city
  18. shower — rain
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. craft — boats
  22. roll — a list
  23. bore — to tire
  24. shower — to wash

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