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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 · band · squash · bear · wave · file · tear · net

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. tear — from crying
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. band — a ring
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. tear — to rip
  9. net — after costs
  10. bear — the animal
  11. net — for catching
  12. file — a tool
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. file — a line of people
  16. band — a music group
  17. bear — the animal
  18. file — a document
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. squash — to crush
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. tear — from crying

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