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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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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: lean · fan · tear · stand · cold · bass · wave · shower

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. tear — from crying
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. stand — to bear
  5. bass — the fish
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. lean — to bend
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. tear — from crying
  18. shower — to wash
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. shower — rain
  23. bass — low music
  24. fan — a supporter

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