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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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Word bank
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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: wind · firm · land · tear · squash · shower · fine · key

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. land — a country
  3. tear — from crying
  4. key — for a lock
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. fine — all right
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — to wash
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. tear — to rip
  11. key — in music
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. fine — high quality
  18. firm — decided
  19. land — to come down
  20. firm — a company
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. land — ground
  24. key — the most important part

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