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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: cap · craft · shower · fan · spell · capital · band · march

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. march — music
  3. craft — boats
  4. capital — money
  5. spell — a short time
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. band — a music group
  8. cap — of ice
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. craft — a skill
  12. cap — a hat
  13. band — a ring
  14. march — the month
  15. shower — to wash
  16. cap — a lid
  17. spell — magic
  18. march — the month
  19. spell — letters
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. shower — rain

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