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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: file · toast · capital · fork · shower · rush · roll · lash

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. file — a tool
  4. rush — hurry
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. roll — a list
  8. toast — bread
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. capital — money
  11. file — a document
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. file — a line of people
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. fork — in a road
  18. shower — to wash
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. capital — a city
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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