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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. tear — from crying
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. net — in sport
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. rock — a stone
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. net — after costs
  16. tear — to rip
  17. shower — rain
  18. sharp — clever
  19. mark — a trace
  20. rock — music
  21. net — for catching
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mine — for digging
  24. sharp — with an edge

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