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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. tear — to rip
  3. scale — size or range
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. dip — to sink
  6. mate — a partner
  7. tear — from crying
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — the cause
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. root — of a plant
  13. shower — rain
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mate — a friend
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. hand — help
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. scale — in music
  22. shower — to wash
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. mate — to breed

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