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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. row — to paddle
  3. shower — rain
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pop — music
  9. file — a tool
  10. bear — the animal
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. bear — the animal
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. shower — to wash
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pop — soda
  18. row — a line

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