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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 120 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 · sharp · tube · capital · racket · rush · saw · shower

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. shower — to wash
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. mug — a cup
  6. sharp — clever
  7. saw — the tool
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. saw — the tool
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — to rob
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — a container
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. capital — money
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. shower — rain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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