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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spring — a coil
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. lie — to recline
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. tear — to rip
  16. spring — the season
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. prune — to trim
  19. spring — of water
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. rule — a law
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. rule — government
  24. safe — out of danger

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