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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. shower — to wash
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. wind — moving air
  5. shower — rain
  6. mine — for digging
  7. tear — to rip
  8. last — final
  9. rock — music
  10. tear — from crying
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. last — to go on
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bulb — for light
  18. ball — a great time
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. rock — a stone
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ball — a dance
  24. last — finally

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