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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 116 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. chair — a leader
  3. tear — to rip
  4. lie — to recline
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. tear — from crying
  7. plane — a tool
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. march — music
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. march — the month
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. shower — to wash
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. march — the month

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