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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cap — a lid
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bank — for money
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cap — a hat
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. shower — to wash
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. bank — for money
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bank — of a river

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