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

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tear — from crying
  4. file — a line of people
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bulb — for light
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. rock — music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. file — a document
  17. bulb — for light
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rule — government
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rule — a law
  22. file — a tool
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. scale — in music

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