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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wake · deal · capital · squash · wound · shower · field · calf

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. field — for sport
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. field — farmland
  6. wound — an injury
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. wake — a trail
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. deal — to handle
  18. capital — money
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. capital — a city
  22. wound — an injury
  23. shower — to wash
  24. field — a subject

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