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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: straw · rest · cell · mark · shower · tear

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rest — a break
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — a grade
  6. shower — to wash
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cell — in biology
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. shower — rain
  13. tear — from crying
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. straw — dry grass

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