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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bound — obliged
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. rule — a law
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. land — ground
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. scale — in music
  15. shower — rain
  16. bound — certain
  17. land — a country
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bound — tied together
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. scale — size or range

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