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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: shower · deal · mate · pit · nail · kid · bank · capital

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — a partner
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pit — in a race
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bank — of a river
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. capital — money
  9. deal — to handle
  10. mate — to breed
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bank — for money
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. capital — a city
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. shower — rain
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. pit — a hole
  22. bank — for money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. kid — child

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