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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 · leaves · lash · pop · wind · face · tear · wave

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  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. leaves — lets stay
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. pop — music
  4. face — to point toward
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. tear — to rip
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. face — part of the head
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. face — to confront
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wind — moving air
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. shower — to wash
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — soda
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  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