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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — hurry
  3. staff — employees
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pitch — completely
  7. file — a document
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. rule — government
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. last — final
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. staff — a stick
  16. last — to go on
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. last — finally
  19. rule — a law
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bark — to shout
  22. file — a tool
  23. staff — employees
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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