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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 · fine · bark · capital · mine · spell · nail · shower

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. spell — magic
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. capital — a city
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. capital — money
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. cue — a hint
  10. spell — letters
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fine — all right
  13. bark — to shout
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. spell — a short time
  16. shower — to wash
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. mine — for digging
  21. fine — high quality
  22. cue — for pool
  23. shower — rain
  24. cue — a signal

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