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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: arm · hide · bowl · land · capital · cold · shower · wave

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. land — a country
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cold — an illness
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. capital — a city
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cold — not warm
  17. land — to come down
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. shower — to wash
  22. capital — money
  23. land — ground
  24. bowl — a dish

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