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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 120 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: shower · hand · temple · bulb · rock · charge · sharp · capital

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. hand — help
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — rain
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. rock — a stone
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. rock — music
  13. charge — a price
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. charge — electricity
  16. bulb — for light
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. capital — money
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. hand — in cards
  23. charge — in control
  24. bulb — for light

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