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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 · bowl · kid · bore · stem · shower

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bore — to drill
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bore — to tire
  15. shower — rain
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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