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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. shower — to wash
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. fall — to drop
  5. shower — rain
  6. fall — the season
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. drill — the tool
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. current — electric
  11. drill — a practice
  12. fall — to drop
  13. tear — from crying
  14. current — of water
  15. current — happening now
  16. tear — from crying
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. drill — army training

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