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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: saw · pitcher · lie · tube · wind · fine · capital · shower

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. capital — a city
  3. wind — moving air
  4. capital — money
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. tube — a container
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fine — all right
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. shower — rain
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. wind — moving air
  22. shower — to wash
  23. tube — the underground
  24. saw — the tool

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