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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bat — the animal
  3. season — in sport
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — certain
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. lie — to recline
  12. tear — from crying
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. craft — a skill
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. season — of the year
  22. bound — obliged
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. craft — boats

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