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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: lie · straw · tear · shower · hand · pit · wind · face

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. pit — in a race
  3. hand — in cards
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wind — moving air
  7. tear — from crying
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. hand — help
  12. tear — to rip
  13. shower — rain
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pit — a hole
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to point toward
  19. shower — to wash
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. wind — moving air
  22. lie — to recline
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. face — to confront

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