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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 116 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. ball — a dance
  4. tear — to rip
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to sink
  8. ball — a great time
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kick — in football
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. tear — from crying
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. shower — rain
  19. branch — a division
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — thin
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — clever
  24. branch — of a bank

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