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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. wax — to grow
  10. pound — a weight
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. pit — in a race
  13. shower — rain
  14. pit — a hole
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. shower — to wash
  19. squash — to crush
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. tear — from crying
  22. file — a tool
  23. tear — to rip
  24. file — a document

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