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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. land — to come down
  3. shower — rain
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — to recline
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wind — moving air
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. game — a match
  12. kick — in football
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. land — a country
  16. game — wild animals
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. shower — to wash
  20. land — ground
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. stem — to come from
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wake — before a funeral

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