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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: hand · last · trunk · game · suit · tear · shower · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. last — final
  3. tear — to rip
  4. shower — rain
  5. hand — in cards
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. shower — to wash
  8. last — finally
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. suit — in cards
  11. tear — from crying
  12. game — a match
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. hand — help
  16. suit — to fit
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. last — to go on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. game — wild animals
  22. season — in sport
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. suit — clothes

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