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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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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: toast · capital · shower · season · stick · field · tear · rush

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. field — for sport
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. season — in sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. tear — to rip
  12. toast — bread
  13. field — a subject
  14. season — of the year
  15. shower — to wash
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. capital — money
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. tear — from crying
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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