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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: ground · track · calf · shower · tear · lie · wake · present

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. track — a path
  5. wake — a trail
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. track — to keep track
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — rain
  12. present — a gift
  13. ground — crushed
  14. lie — to recline
  15. ground — a position
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. ground — the earth
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — there
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. track — a song
  23. tear — from crying
  24. calf — a young animal

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