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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
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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: toast · cue · shower · capital · bore · spell · wound · mine

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. spell — a short time
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. spell — letters
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cue — a hint
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. spell — magic
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. capital — money
  15. cue — for pool
  16. mine — for digging
  17. shower — rain
  18. cue — a signal
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. capital — a city
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bore — to drill

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