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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.

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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: drill · swing · capital · pound · rest · shower · wind · chip

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. drill — army training
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chip — to eat
  5. swing — music
  6. shower — rain
  7. chip — for betting
  8. rest — a break
  9. swing — in golf
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wind — moving air
  13. drill — the tool
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. rest — what's left
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. swing — to play on
  24. drill — a practice

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