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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: content · shower · wind · bowl · lash · arm · tear · foot

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. tear — from crying
  6. foot — a measure
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. wind — moving air
  13. content — happy
  14. wind — moving air
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. tear — from crying
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. shower — rain
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. shower — to wash

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