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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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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: last · wave · bear · shower · track · field · sharp · tear

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. last — to go on
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a path
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. sharp — clever
  7. last — finally
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bear — the animal
  10. last — final
  11. field — a subject
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. shower — rain
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. tear — from crying
  21. field — for sport
  22. track — a song
  23. field — farmland
  24. shower — to wash

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