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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · tear · wave · pop · shower · fall · spell · saw

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. pop — soda
  3. saw — the tool
  4. spell — a short time
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. march — music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. spell — magic
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pop — to visit
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. tear — from crying
  13. march — the month
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pop — music
  16. spell — letters
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. shower — rain
  20. tear — to rip
  21. march — the month
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — of the sea

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