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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spell — magic
  3. club — for dancing
  4. spell — a short time
  5. roll — a list
  6. tear — to rip
  7. roll — a cake
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. shower — rain
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. spell — letters
  12. tear — from crying
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. squash — the sport
  19. club — for golf
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — in a road
  22. shower — to wash
  23. club — a group
  24. roll — on a roll

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