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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: tear · drill · board · shower · wind · stem · bay · cold

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. cold — an illness
  5. drill — a practice
  6. board — to get on
  7. wind — moving air
  8. drill — the tool
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cold — not warm
  16. drill — army training
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. tear — to rip
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. board — a committee
  24. shower — to wash

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