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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: straw · bound · spring · rush · shower · kick · dip · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. shower — rain
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. capital — money
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bound — obliged
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. shower — to wash
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. rush — hurry
  16. dip — to sink
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. bound — certain
  20. spring — of water
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bound — tied together

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