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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. swing — in golf
  3. shower — rain
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mate — a partner
  6. season — in sport
  7. swing — to play on
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mate — a friend
  10. swing — music
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. race — humankind
  13. face — to confront
  14. tear — from crying
  15. race — the arms race
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. mate — to breed
  18. race — a contest
  19. mug — a cup
  20. season — of the year
  21. mug — to rob
  22. mug — a face
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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