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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. tear — to rip
  4. game — a match
  5. shower — rain
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. present — a gift
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. content — happy
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. tear — from crying
  15. key — in music
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. present — there
  20. content — the amount
  21. present — the time now
  22. key — for a lock
  23. shower — to wash
  24. key — the most important part

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