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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: cold · root · rush · tear · shower · object · content · racket

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. content — the amount
  3. object — a thing
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cold — not warm
  6. shower — rain
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. cold — an illness
  9. object — to protest
  10. rush — hurry
  11. root — of a plant
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. tear — from crying
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. root — the cause
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. tear — from crying
  19. content — happy
  20. object — an aim
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. root — of a word
  23. shower — to wash
  24. cold — the Cold War

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