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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. bat — the animal
  5. hand — in cards
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. root — of a plant
  11. tear — to rip
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. root — of a word
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bulb — for light
  17. root — the cause
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. shower — to wash
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. hand — help

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