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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: hand · mug · bulb · wind · calf · shower · capital · prune

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mug — a cup
  3. bulb — for light
  4. mug — to rob
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. capital — a city
  8. mug — a face
  9. capital — money
  10. wind — moving air
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. shower — rain
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. bulb — for light
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. hand — help

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