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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: bowl · bound · rule · suit · snap · fall · shower · tear

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. suit — to fit
  5. suit — in cards
  6. shower — to wash
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bound — certain
  10. fall — the season
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fall — to drop
  13. suit — clothes
  14. shower — rain
  15. tear — from crying
  16. snap — to click
  17. bound — tied together
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rule — government
  20. tear — to rip
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. rule — a law
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bowl — to roll

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