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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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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: wave · swing · shower · march · face · capital · bark · present

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. capital — money
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. march — the month
  6. present — there
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. march — the month
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. march — music
  12. capital — a city
  13. present — the time now
  14. swing — to play on
  15. shower — to wash
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. present — a gift
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. face — part of the head
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. shower — rain

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