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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 · capital · stock · pass · firm · cold · bowl · game

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. capital — money
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. firm — a company
  8. stock — goods
  9. firm — decided
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. cold — an illness
  12. game — a match
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. shower — to wash
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stock — shares
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. shower — rain
  21. firm — steady
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. capital — a city

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