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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. prune — to trim
  10. perch — the fish
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. tear — from crying
  13. shower — to wash
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cold — an illness
  16. shower — rain
  17. hand — help
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cold — not warm
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. hand — in cards

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