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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: bat · capital · trunk · shower · deal · chair · season · bowl

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — rain
  3. capital — a city
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. deal — to handle
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. season — of the year
  14. shower — to wash
  15. season — in sport
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. capital — money
  24. trunk — of a car

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