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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: season · rush · march · shower · capital · perch · court · bowl

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. capital — money
  2. march — the month
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. court — of law
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. capital — a city
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. season — in sport
  10. march — the month
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. season — of the year
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. march — music
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rush — hurry
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. shower — to wash
  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