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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. tear — from crying
  5. present — there
  6. present — a gift
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. can — a tin
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. roll — a cake
  13. can — a tin
  14. race — the arms race
  15. tear — from crying
  16. can — to be able to
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. present — the time now
  19. race — humankind
  20. roll — a list
  21. shower — rain
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. race — a contest
  24. tear — to rip

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