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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: season · wake · tube · bowl · wound · capital · squash · shower

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wound — an injury
  4. tube — a container
  5. season — in sport
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. season — of the year
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. capital — a city
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. shower — rain
  24. capital — money

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