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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 · content · shower · firm · ruler · bat · wind · cap

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. tear — to rip
  3. content — happy
  4. cap — a lid
  5. shower — to wash
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. firm — a company
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. tear — from crying
  13. content — the amount
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cap — a hat
  20. shower — rain
  21. firm — steady
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. tear — from crying
  24. firm — decided

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