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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 · capital · file · date · spring · bear · pit · shower

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  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. shower — rain
  2. shower — to wash
  3. file — a line of people
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. spring — of water
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. spring — the season
  9. file — a tool
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. pit — a hole
  12. bear — the animal
  13. date — the fruit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cap — a lid
  16. capital — a city
  17. pit — in a race
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cap — a hat
  21. file — a document
  22. spring — a coil
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  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