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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: shower · bark · current · rush · capital · land · press · bear

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. current — of water
  4. shower — rain
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. land — to come down
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rush — hurry
  10. current — electric
  11. bear — the animal
  12. capital — money
  13. land — a country
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. press — to push
  17. shower — to wash
  18. press — newspapers
  19. capital — a city
  20. press — a publisher
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. current — happening now

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