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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. fall — to drop
  4. key — for a lock
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. key — the most important part
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. pound — a weight
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. stock — shares
  15. tear — from crying
  16. key — in music
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. fall — the season
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. shower — to wash
  24. stock — goods

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