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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: scale · hide · shower · coach · bulb · capital · ground · saw

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bulb — for light
  8. saw — the tool
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. shower — rain
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. shower — to wash
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — crushed
  23. capital — a city
  24. ground — the earth

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