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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: straw · deal · wax · trunk · fork · shower · tear · fall

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. tear — from crying
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fall — to drop
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. deal — to handle
  14. shower — rain
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. tear — from crying
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fall — to drop
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wax — to grow

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