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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · cap · toast · current · land · content · mate · fall

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. land — a country
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. land — to come down
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. content — the amount
  7. mate — a partner
  8. toast — bread
  9. content — happy
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. cap — a lid
  12. shower — to wash
  13. current — electric
  14. land — ground
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mate — to breed
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cap — of ice
  19. mate — a friend
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. current — of water
  23. shower — rain
  24. current — happening now

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