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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. fall — to drop
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cell — a phone
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. pop — music
  10. row — a line
  11. rest — what's left
  12. shower — rain
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cell — in biology
  15. rest — a break
  16. pop — to visit
  17. fall — to drop
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. shower — to wash
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pop — soda

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