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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. rest — what's left
  3. squash — the sport
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. tear — from crying
  8. plane — a tool
  9. roll — a cake
  10. row — a line
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — to rip
  14. rest — a break
  15. roll — a list
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. row — to paddle
  20. shower — to wash
  21. wind — moving air
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. squash — to crush
  24. rest — what's left

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