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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wind — moving air
  3. staff — a stick
  4. tear — to rip
  5. march — the month
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. bulb — for light
  8. tear — from crying
  9. staff — employees
  10. march — music
  11. content — the amount
  12. wind — moving air
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bulb — for light
  15. content — happy
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. staff — employees
  20. tear — from crying
  21. shower — rain
  22. march — the month
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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