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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: wind · shower · capital · lean · leaves · can · tube · coach

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. shower — to wash
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — the underground
  6. wind — moving air
  7. capital — money
  8. tube — a container
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. can — a tin
  12. capital — a city
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. can — a tin
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. lean — thin
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. shower — rain
  23. wind — moving air
  24. can — to be able to

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