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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.

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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: game · season · tear · mark · shower · pound · stand · spring

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. stand — to bear
  3. game — wild animals
  4. tear — from crying
  5. shower — to wash
  6. mark — a trace
  7. season — of the year
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. shower — rain
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. game — a match
  16. tear — to rip
  17. spring — of water
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — in sport
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. mark — to pay attention

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