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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: game · dip · foot · drill · wave · pop · shower · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — the tool
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. shower — rain
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pop — music
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. drill — a practice
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. pop — soda
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — to sink
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. foot — a measure
  18. tear — from crying
  19. shower — to wash
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. pop — to visit

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