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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: pound · shower · hand · lie · root · craft · capital · cold

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  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 — rain
  2. lie — to recline
  3. root — of a plant
  4. hand — help
  5. capital — money
  6. cold — not warm
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. cold — an illness
  13. root — the cause
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. hand — in cards
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. craft — a skill
  21. craft — boats
  22. pound — a weight
  23. root — of a word
  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