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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: wound · shower · lean · leaves · march · deal · face · tear

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. deal — to handle
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. shower — rain
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to confront
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. tear — to rip
  13. face — to point toward
  14. wound — an injury
  15. shower — to wash
  16. tear — from crying
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. lean — to bend
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. lean — thin
  23. tear — from crying
  24. march — music

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