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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: mug · shower · capital · bark · tube · dip · fall · prune

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. capital — money
  4. dip — to sink
  5. fall — the season
  6. bark — to shout
  7. tube — a container
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. shower — rain
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. capital — a city
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. mug — a cup
  16. tube — the underground
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. mug — a face
  19. mug — to rob
  20. shower — to wash
  21. prune — to trim
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. dip — a sauce

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