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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: fine · present · fan · capital · bound · mouse · trunk · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. capital — a city
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — all right
  8. bound — certain
  9. present — a gift
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. shower — rain
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. capital — money
  15. bound — tied together
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. present — the time now
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. present — there
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bound — obliged
  24. mouse — for a computer

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