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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. cell — a phone
  4. file — a tool
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. file — a document
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. tear — from crying
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. file — a line of people
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bark — to shout
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. tear — to rip
  24. can — a tin

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