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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: rush · rash · shower · tear · track · object · cold · ball

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. cold — not warm
  3. track — a song
  4. track — to keep track
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cold — an illness
  8. shower — rain
  9. ball — a dance
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. object — a thing
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. rash — hasty
  17. object — an aim
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rush — hurry
  21. object — to protest
  22. track — a path
  23. rash — a series
  24. tear — to rip

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