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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 · hide · bore · board · cold · capital · stick · cap

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. board — to get on
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cap — a hat
  10. shower — rain
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. board — a committee
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bore — to drill
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. capital — a city
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. cap — a lid
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. bore — to tire
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cold — an illness
  24. capital — money

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