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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. content — the amount
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. wound — an injury
  10. snap — to click
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. band — a ring
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. shower — to wash
  23. content — happy
  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