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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: tube · season · capital · shower · cap · prune · key · track

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. cap — of ice
  3. shower — rain
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. key — the most important part
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cap — a hat
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. capital — money
  11. cap — a lid
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. key — for a lock
  14. season — in sport
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. shower — to wash
  17. season — of the year
  18. capital — a city
  19. tube — a container
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — the underground
  23. prune — to trim
  24. key — in music

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