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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. can — a tin
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. wind — moving air
  6. degree — from a university
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. club — for golf
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rule — a law
  11. roll — a cake
  12. rule — government
  13. degree — an amount
  14. tear — from crying
  15. club — for dancing
  16. can — a tin
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. squash — to crush
  19. degree — temperature
  20. tear — to rip
  21. club — a group
  22. squash — the sport
  23. roll — a list
  24. can — to be able to

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