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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bowl · cap · land · stock · tear · shower · lean · squash

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. land — to come down
  3. cap — of ice
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. land — ground
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. tear — from crying
  8. squash — the sport
  9. shower — rain
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cap — a hat
  12. stock — goods
  13. lean — to bend
  14. cap — a lid
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. land — a country
  18. squash — to crush
  19. stock — shares
  20. shower — to wash
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. lean — thin
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. tear — from crying

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