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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. suit — to fit
  3. ball — a great time
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. chip — for betting
  7. tear — from crying
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. tear — from crying
  11. sharp — clever
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. clip — to cut
  14. ball — a dance
  15. pound — a weight
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — to eat
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. suit — in cards
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. clip — a video
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. suit — clothes
  24. clip — for paper

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