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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: rush · capital · shower · rash · ball · racket · branch · present

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. branch — a division
  4. present — the time now
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. ball — a great time
  12. rash — a series
  13. present — a gift
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. rash — hasty
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. present — there
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. ball — a dance
  24. shower — rain

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