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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 · present · court · saw · lash · squash · date · shower

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. saw — the tool
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. squash — to crush
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. present — there
  12. present — a gift
  13. court — for sport
  14. shower — to wash
  15. squash — the sport
  16. court — of law
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. court — of a king
  19. present — the time now
  20. shower — rain
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. saw — the tool
  23. date — the fruit
  24. lash — to lash out

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