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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. row — to paddle
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. shower — rain
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. drill — a practice
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. tear — from crying
  13. drill — the tool
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. drill — army training
  17. hand — help
  18. craft — boats
  19. row — a line
  20. shower — to wash
  21. perch — the fish
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. craft — a skill

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