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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 120 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: bay · pit · file · capital · land · row · tube · shower

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. shower — rain
  3. land — a country
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. land — ground
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. file — a line of people
  9. capital — a city
  10. tube — a container
  11. file — a tool
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. capital — money
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. tube — the underground
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. pit — in a race
  21. file — a document
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. land — to come down

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