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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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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: shower · hand · rash · kick · cell · tear · staff · plane

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. hand — in cards
  5. cell — a phone
  6. staff — employees
  7. rash — hasty
  8. cell — in biology
  9. shower — to wash
  10. staff — employees
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. tear — to rip
  16. plane — a tool
  17. staff — a stick
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — in football
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rash — a series
  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