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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · bear · shower · fork · cue · field · capital · game

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. shower — to wash
  8. game — a match
  9. capital — money
  10. bear — the animal
  11. capital — a city
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. game — wild animals
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bear — the animal
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cue — a hint
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. cue — for pool
  24. land — to come down

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