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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: roll · capital · can · file · shower · band · squash · ground

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. file — a line of people
  3. band — a ring
  4. squash — the sport
  5. band — a music group
  6. file — a tool
  7. ground — a position
  8. shower — to wash
  9. ground — crushed
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. capital — a city
  13. can — to be able to
  14. ground — the earth
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. roll — a cake
  18. roll — a list
  19. file — a document
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — a tin
  24. shower — rain

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