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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: shower · suit · mug · field · drill · pitcher · wax · capital

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. field — farmland
  3. suit — to fit
  4. mug — to rob
  5. suit — in cards
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. field — a subject
  8. drill — a practice
  9. capital — a city
  10. shower — rain
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mug — a cup
  15. drill — the tool
  16. wax — to grow
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. mug — a face
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. shower — to wash
  21. field — for sport
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. drill — army training
  24. capital — money

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