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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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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: tear · shower · toast · mug · wave · capital · wind · chip

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mug — a face
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. mug — to rob
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chip — to eat
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chip — for betting
  13. mug — a cup
  14. capital — money
  15. shower — rain
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wind — moving air
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. toast — bread
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. capital — a city

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