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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 · bay · press · wind · bound · craft · bat · capital

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. shower — rain
  4. craft — boats
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. shower — to wash
  7. capital — a city
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bound — obliged
  11. press — to push
  12. press — a publisher
  13. bound — certain
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. press — newspapers
  17. capital — money
  18. wind — moving air
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. craft — a skill
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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