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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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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 · present · firm · mark · last · dip · saw · lie

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. last — to go on
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. mark — a grade
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. firm — a company
  8. mark — a trace
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. saw — the tool
  12. firm — decided
  13. dip — to sink
  14. present — there
  15. lie — to recline
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — a gift
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — to wash
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. saw — the tool
  23. shower — rain
  24. dip — a sauce

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