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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 120 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: capital · ground · coach · present · squash · row · rash · shower

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. squash — the sport
  3. row — to paddle
  4. shower — rain
  5. row — a line
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. ground — a position
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. shower — to wash
  10. ground — crushed
  11. capital — money
  12. rash — a series
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. squash — to crush
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. present — a gift
  20. ground — the earth
  21. capital — a city
  22. present — the time now
  23. rash — hasty
  24. coach — a trainer

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