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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 120 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 have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. pound — a weight
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. swing — to play on
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. swing — music
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — the arms race
  14. swing — in golf
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. shower — rain
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. race — humankind
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. foot — a measure
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. file — a line of people

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