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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: lean · object · mine · dip · rock · straw · capital · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. capital — money
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. object — a thing
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. lean — thin
  12. dip — to sink
  13. object — an aim
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. lean — to bend
  17. shower — rain
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. capital — a city
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. object — to protest

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