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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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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: bat · club · bay · shower · prune · file · rash · capital

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. shower — to wash
  3. club — for dancing
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. file — a document
  6. bat — the animal
  7. file — a tool
  8. capital — a city
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. shower — rain
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. club — a group
  14. rash — a series
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. club — for golf
  23. rash — hasty
  24. prune — the fruit

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