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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kid · shower · mouse · hide · capital · season · charge · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  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. cap — a hat
  2. charge — in control
  3. cap — a lid
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. charge — electricity
  6. season — in sport
  7. kid — to tease
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — of the year
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. shower — to wash
  12. capital — money
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. capital — a city
  20. cap — of ice
  21. charge — a price
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. kid — child
  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