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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 120 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: stick · fine · shower · season · lie · cell · saw · tear

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. cell — in biology
  3. saw — the tool
  4. season — in sport
  5. tear — to rip
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. fine — high quality
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. fine — all right
  14. tear — from crying
  15. season — of the year
  16. lie — to recline
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. shower — to wash
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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