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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 116 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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. drill — a practice
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hand — in cards
  9. drill — the tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. drill — army training
  24. shower — rain

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