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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 120 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: scale · rush · key · shower · mouse · capital · cold · court

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. key — the most important part
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. key — in music
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. court — of law
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. capital — money
  15. shower — rain
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. rush — hurry
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. court — of a king
  20. scale — size or range
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. capital — a city
  23. court — for sport
  24. key — for a lock

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