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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. suit — to fit
  4. tear — from crying
  5. board — a committee
  6. shower — to wash
  7. ground — crushed
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. tear — to rip
  11. spring — a coil
  12. shower — rain
  13. spring — of water
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. spring — the season
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. suit — clothes
  18. suit — in cards
  19. ground — a position
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. board — to get on
  23. cell — in biology
  24. ground — the earth

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