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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. last — final
  3. file — a tool
  4. kid — to tease
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. firm — steady
  7. firm — decided
  8. fall — the season
  9. firm — a company
  10. shower — rain
  11. fall — to drop
  12. shower — to wash
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kid — child
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fall — to drop
  18. file — a line of people
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. file — a document
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. ruler — for measuring

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