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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. shower — rain
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. file — a line of people
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. file — a document
  15. lie — to recline
  16. fine — high quality
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rush — hurry
  21. file — a tool
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bat — in an idiom

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