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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: fan · board · chest · toast · shower · racket · deal · capital

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. capital — a city
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. capital — money
  5. board — a committee
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. chest — a box
  9. toast — bread
  10. deal — to handle
  11. shower — rain
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. board — to get on
  24. racket — for tennis

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