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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 · row · face · fan · tear · lash · shower · cold

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. pass — a permit
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. face — to confront
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. face — part of the head
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. tear — from crying
  12. row — a line
  13. cold — an illness
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cold — not warm
  17. face — to point toward
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. tear — to rip
  20. row — to paddle
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. fan — a supporter

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