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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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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 · cold · wind · mouse · pass · rule · shower · stand

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. cold — an illness
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. shower — rain
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. stand — to bear
  11. rule — government
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. shower — to wash
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. capital — a city
  19. rule — a law
  20. wind — moving air
  21. capital — money
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pass — a permit

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