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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: bore · spring · club · arm · prune · shower · can · capital

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. spring — of water
  3. shower — rain
  4. club — for dancing
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. club — a group
  7. prune — to trim
  8. spring — the season
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bore — to tire
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. can — to be able to
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. prune — to trim
  16. spring — a coil
  17. club — for golf
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. capital — a city
  20. can — a tin
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. can — a tin
  23. capital — money
  24. shower — to wash

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