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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. mate — a partner
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cell — a phone
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. track — to keep track
  8. shower — to wash
  9. season — of the year
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. mate — to breed
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. track — a song
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. season — in sport
  22. track — a path
  23. tear — from crying
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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