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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. game — wild animals
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. file — a tool
  7. rule — government
  8. file — a document
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. rash — a series
  14. rule — a law
  15. file — a line of people
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. craft — a skill
  18. rash — hasty
  19. craft — boats
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. sharp — clever
  22. game — a match
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. rash — on the skin

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