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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: pound · shower · hide · ball · season · cap · capital · branch

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. season — in sport
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — of ice
  7. ball — a great time
  8. capital — a city
  9. season — of the year
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. cap — a lid
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. branch — a division
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. shower — rain
  20. pound — a weight
  21. ball — a dance
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. ball — a round shape

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