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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: chair · pass · game · wind · bowl · dip · shower · capital

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. dip — to sink
  5. game — a match
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wind — moving air
  12. shower — rain
  13. capital — money
  14. chair — a leader
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. shower — to wash
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wind — moving air
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pass — a permit

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