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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: pass · shower · stand · mate · chest · squash · cap · tear

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. 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. mate — to breed
  2. squash — to crush
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. mate — a friend
  6. stand — to bear
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. cap — of ice
  16. shower — rain
  17. tear — to rip
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. mate — a partner
  21. pass — a permit
  22. squash — the sport
  23. tear — from crying
  24. 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