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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: cold · charge · sharp · nail · wind · capital · shower · pound

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. shower — rain
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wind — moving air
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. charge — in control
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. capital — a city
  13. charge — electricity
  14. cold — not warm
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. sharp — clever
  18. capital — money
  19. pound — a weight
  20. cold — an illness
  21. charge — a price
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wind — moving air
  24. sharp — with an edge

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