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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: mouse · mug · squash · foot · shower · bark · spell · capital

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bark — to shout
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mug — to rob
  9. squash — to crush
  10. mug — a cup
  11. capital — money
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. spell — magic
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. squash — the sport
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. foot — a measure
  19. shower — rain
  20. mug — a face
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. capital — a city
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. foot — part of the body

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