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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: bass · shower · dip · rule · fork · present · field · tear

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. present — the time now
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bass — low music
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. field — farmland
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. present — there
  12. tear — from crying
  13. dip — to sink
  14. field — for sport
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rule — a law
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. bass — the fish
  20. shower — rain
  21. present — a gift
  22. tear — to rip
  23. field — a subject
  24. rule — government

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