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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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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 · fall · shower · stick · cell · bear · row · dip

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. row — a line
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. fall — the season
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. capital — a city
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. dip — to sink
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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