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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 120 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: bat · wound · nail · land · shower · can · mouse · tear

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. wound — an injury
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. can — a tin
  9. tear — to rip
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. shower — to wash
  12. can — to be able to
  13. tear — from crying
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. can — a tin
  18. bat — the animal
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — ground
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. shower — rain
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wound — an injury

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