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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. tear — to rip
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. spell — letters
  7. tear — from crying
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mate — to breed
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. mate — a friend
  17. squash — the sport
  18. spell — magic
  19. shower — to wash
  20. spell — a short time
  21. tear — from crying
  22. shower — rain
  23. mate — a partner
  24. squash — to crush

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