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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. roll — a list
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. roll — a cake
  10. drill — a practice
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. shower — rain
  13. drill — the tool
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. season — of the year
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pass — a permit
  20. band — a ring
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. season — in sport
  24. drill — army training

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