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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. can — to be able to
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. shower — rain
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. present — there
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. plane — a tool
  15. cold — an illness
  16. present — a gift
  17. club — a group
  18. cold — not warm
  19. club — for dancing
  20. tear — from crying
  21. can — a tin
  22. present — the time now
  23. can — a tin
  24. club — for golf

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