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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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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: rash · tear · leaves · wound · cold · shower · band · net

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. net — after costs
  4. tear — to rip
  5. net — for catching
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. shower — rain
  12. cold — an illness
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. tear — from crying
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. net — in sport
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. tear — from crying
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rash — a series
  22. wound — an injury
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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