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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. tear — from crying
  3. root — of a plant
  4. scale — size or range
  5. last — final
  6. rule — government
  7. scale — in music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. tear — to rip
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. last — finally
  14. root — the cause
  15. rock — music
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — wild animals
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rule — a law
  23. root — of a word
  24. game — a match

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