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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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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: deal · saw · season · object · land · tear · shower · ball

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. ball — a great time
  3. tear — to rip
  4. shower — rain
  5. tear — from crying
  6. land — a country
  7. saw — the tool
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. land — ground
  14. tear — from crying
  15. season — in sport
  16. land — to come down
  17. season — of the year
  18. saw — the tool
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — to protest
  21. ball — a dance
  22. deal — to handle
  23. object — a thing
  24. ball — a round shape

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