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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: rush · stand · capital · ground · cabinet · pitch · temple · shower

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. capital — a city
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. rush — hurry
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. shower — to wash
  11. stand — to bear
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. shower — rain
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. ground — a position
  21. pitch — completely
  22. capital — money
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. temple — a place of worship

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