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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 · rock · wake · tear · lean · kid · safe · wound

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — music
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. shower — to wash
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wound — an injury
  11. shower — rain
  12. rock — a stone
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wake — a trail
  15. lean — thin
  16. kid — child
  17. lean — to bend
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. safe — a strongbox

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