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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. tear — from crying
  4. shower — rain
  5. ball — a great time
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. ball — a dance
  9. bark — to shout
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. sharp — clever
  16. tear — to rip
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. lie — to recline
  24. pitcher — a jug

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