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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: leaves · craft · chest · kid · tear · shower · ruler · mate

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. tear — from crying
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mate — to breed
  5. kid — child
  6. craft — boats
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mate — a friend
  11. kid — to tease
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. shower — rain
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. craft — a skill
  16. chest — a box
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. chest — of your body
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. tear — to rip
  24. craft — a handicraft

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