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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 116 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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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: tear · lean · kick · bark · shower · pitcher · last · stand

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. lean — to bend
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stand — to bear
  13. tear — from crying
  14. last — final
  15. kick — in football
  16. last — finally
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. lean — thin
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. last — to go on
  24. bark — to shout

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