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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
468
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: shower · capital · court · wake · cold · mug · band · foot

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mug — to rob
  3. band — a music group
  4. foot — a measure
  5. capital — money
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. shower — rain
  8. court — for sport
  9. capital — a city
  10. court — of a king
  11. wake — a trail
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. court — of law
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mug — a cup
  16. cold — an illness
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. shower — to wash
  20. band — a ring
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. mug — a face

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