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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 · date · board · shower · drill · land

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. date — the fruit
  7. board — a committee
  8. drill — the tool
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. tear — to rip
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — army training
  16. tear — from crying
  17. land — ground
  18. tear — from crying

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