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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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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: present · bulb · key · capital · kid · shower · arm · file

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. shower — rain
  3. present — the time now
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. present — there
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. key — in music
  11. capital — a city
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. kid — to tease
  14. file — a tool
  15. kid — child
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. key — the most important part
  18. present — a gift
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bulb — for light
  22. capital — money
  23. bulb — for light
  24. key — for a lock

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