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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: racket · drill · capital · hand · season · roll · shower · bulb

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. shower — to wash
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. drill — a practice
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. season — of the year
  10. bulb — for light
  11. drill — the tool
  12. hand — help
  13. capital — money
  14. hand — in cards
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. roll — a cake
  17. drill — army training
  18. capital — a city
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bulb — for light
  22. shower — rain
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. season — in sport

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