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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: shower · cap · club · rule · capital · mate · pop · rush

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rule — a law
  3. cap — of ice
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. cap — a hat
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — government
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. capital — money
  12. pop — to visit
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pop — music
  15. cap — a lid
  16. club — a group
  17. shower — rain
  18. pop — soda
  19. club — for golf
  20. mate — to breed
  21. club — for dancing
  22. mate — a friend
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. rush — hurry

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