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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. shower — to wash
  3. fine — high quality
  4. club — for dancing
  5. stem — to come from
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. shower — rain
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fine — all right
  12. fall — the season
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. tear — from crying
  15. club — for golf
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. club — a group
  18. kid — child
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. fall — to drop
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. kid — to tease
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. fall — to drop

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