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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: board · shower · tube · capital · land · fall · jam · fork

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. capital — money
  3. board — to get on
  4. tube — a container
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. fall — to drop
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. land — ground
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. capital — a city
  13. board — a committee
  14. tube — the underground
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. land — a country
  18. fall — the season
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fall — to drop
  22. land — to come down
  23. fork — to eat with
  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