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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: leaves · craft · chest · kid · tear · shower

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. tear — to rip
  4. chest — of your body
  5. shower — to wash
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. craft — boats
  9. shower — rain
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. kid — child
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. craft — a skill
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kid — to tease
  18. leaves — to go away

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