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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: shower · spring · rush · tear · date · stick · fall · temple

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. rush — hurry
  4. shower — rain
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. tear — from crying
  11. shower — to wash
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. tear — to rip
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. fall — to drop
  19. date — the fruit
  20. fall — the season
  21. spring — the season
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. fall — to drop

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