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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: object · capital · straw · field · foot · shower · band · mug

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. band — a music group
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. object — an aim
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mug — a cup
  9. field — for sport
  10. mug — to rob
  11. foot — a measure
  12. object — a thing
  13. shower — rain
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. mug — a face
  17. band — a ring
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. object — to protest
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a city

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