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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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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: saw · straw · wave · squash · wound · shower · tear · bowl

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. tear — to rip
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. wound — an injury
  5. shower — to wash
  6. squash — the sport
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. squash — to crush
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. saw — the tool
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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