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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 116 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: content · bat · ruler · wave · bore · shower · cap · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. shower — to wash
  3. content — happy
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bore — to drill
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. content — the amount
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bore — to tire
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. shower — rain
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cap — of ice
  19. land — a country
  20. cap — a lid
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. land — ground

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