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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: cue · ball · hand · shower · prune · can · drill · capital

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cue — for pool
  4. can — a tin
  5. capital — money
  6. hand — in cards
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — the tool
  9. ball — a dance
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. drill — army training
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. prune — to trim
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. capital — a city
  16. ball — a great time
  17. shower — rain
  18. can — a tin
  19. cue — a signal
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. hand — help
  24. can — to be able to

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