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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 116 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: tear · pit · spring · stand · face · game · shower · track

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. game — wild animals
  5. spring — a coil
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — rain
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. face — to point toward
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. pit — in a race
  12. track — a path
  13. spring — of water
  14. tear — from crying
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. track — to keep track
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to confront
  20. track — a song
  21. game — a match
  22. spring — the season
  23. tear — to rip
  24. pit — a hole

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