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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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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. tear — from crying
  4. firm — decided
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. season — in sport
  7. tube — a container
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. band — a ring
  10. tear — from crying
  11. firm — steady
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wake — a trail
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. firm — a company
  19. shower — rain
  20. season — of the year
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. band — a music group

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