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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: land · mark · pass · snap · shower · content · capital · trunk

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. capital — a city
  3. pass — a permit
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. content — happy
  10. mark — a trace
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. land — ground
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. content — the amount
  18. snap — to click
  19. land — to come down
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. land — a country
  22. mark — a grade
  23. capital — money
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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