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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: shower · capital · toast · foot · bat · bear · scale · pop

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. pop — soda
  6. scale — size or range
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bear — the animal
  11. shower — rain
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pop — music
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. toast — bread
  17. shower — to wash
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bat — the animal
  20. scale — in music
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bat — for baseball

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