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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: shower · file · drill · deal · coach · saw · cell · capital

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. deal — to handle
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. file — a line of people
  7. capital — money
  8. saw — the tool
  9. capital — a city
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. saw — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — army training
  15. cell — in biology
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. shower — rain
  18. drill — the tool
  19. shower — to wash
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. file — a document
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. file — a tool

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