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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: arm · wave · shower · kid · capital · toast · date · cue

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cue — a signal
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cue — for pool
  7. kid — child
  8. capital — a city
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cue — a hint
  12. capital — money
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. toast — bread
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. date — the fruit
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. arm — part of the body

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