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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: shower · face · stick · rule · tear · bat

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. face — part of the head
  9. rule — a law
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rule — government

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