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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: tear · rash · stick · shower · date · calf · land · straw

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. rash — a series
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. land — a country
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. land — to come down
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — the fruit
  18. rash — hasty
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. shower — to wash
  23. tear — to rip
  24. shower — rain

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