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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. tear — from crying
  4. band — a music group
  5. tear — from crying
  6. firm — steady
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. tear — to rip
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. rule — government
  14. band — a ring
  15. firm — a company
  16. fine — all right
  17. last — to go on
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. firm — decided
  23. rule — to rule out
  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