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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. tear — from crying
  5. can — a tin
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cap — a lid
  8. stand — to bear
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mine — for digging
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. hand — in cards
  17. rule — government
  18. hand — help
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wind — moving air
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — to be able to
  24. rule — a law

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