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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: capital · tube · shower · cap · snap · bound · drill · cabinet

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. capital — a city
  3. snap — to click
  4. tube — the underground
  5. cap — a hat
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. capital — money
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — certain
  13. cap — of ice
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. drill — a practice
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. shower — to wash
  19. cap — a lid
  20. tube — a container
  21. bound — obliged
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. drill — army training
  24. shower — rain

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