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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: key · shower · bowl · bear · capital · clip · deal · hand

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bear — the animal
  5. hand — in cards
  6. key — the most important part
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. shower — rain
  9. capital — money
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. key — for a lock
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. capital — a city
  16. key — in music
  17. hand — help
  18. deal — to handle
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. bear — the animal

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