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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tear — from crying
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. stem — to come from
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — to visit
  8. shower — rain
  9. tube — the underground
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. wind — moving air
  12. track — a song
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. tear — from crying
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. pop — soda
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. wind — moving air
  21. track — to keep track
  22. tube — a container
  23. track — a path
  24. stem — of a plant

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