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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 120 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: content · kid · tear · march · pass · shower

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. tear — to rip
  3. shower — to wash
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — to tease
  6. content — happy
  7. shower — rain
  8. kid — child
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. march — the month
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. march — music
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. tear — from crying
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. tear — from crying
  18. march — the month

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