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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: tear · shower · root · lean · bat · rock · bowl · straw

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. root — of a word
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. shower — rain
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. shower — to wash
  12. root — the cause
  13. lean — to bend
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. root — of a plant
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. rock — music
  19. tear — from crying
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. lean — thin

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