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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: lie · rest · spring · tube · bank · shower · pop · capital

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. tube — a container
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bank — of a river
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. pop — music
  8. rest — what's left
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. shower — to wash
  11. capital — money
  12. lie — to recline
  13. bank — for money
  14. spring — of water
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. tube — the underground
  17. spring — the season
  18. rest — a break
  19. pop — to visit
  20. capital — a city
  21. pop — soda
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. shower — rain
  24. rest — what's left

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