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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 120 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. wake — a trail
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. present — there
  5. march — the month
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — child
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. march — the month
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. present — the time now
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. present — a gift
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. tear — to rip
  19. perch — the fish
  20. march — music
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. shower — to wash
  24. tear — from crying

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