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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: tear · race · straw · shower · spell · chest

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. race — humankind
  5. chest — of your body
  6. shower — to wash
  7. race — the arms race
  8. tear — from crying
  9. shower — rain
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chest — of your body
  12. spell — letters
  13. chest — a box
  14. tear — from crying
  15. spell — a short time
  16. race — a contest
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. tear — to rip

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