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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: shower · tear · squash · root · key · lie · deal · face

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. face — part of the head
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. key — the most important part
  5. root — of a word
  6. tear — from crying
  7. key — for a lock
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. face — to confront
  11. root — the cause
  12. tear — from crying
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. root — of a plant
  17. key — in music
  18. tear — to rip
  19. squash — the sport
  20. face — to point toward
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — rain
  24. squash — to crush

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