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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — government
  4. cold — an illness
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. cold — not warm
  9. file — a tool
  10. branch — a division
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. file — a document
  14. can — a tin
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. can — a tin
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. bark — to shout
  21. fork — in a road
  22. tear — to rip
  23. can — to be able to
  24. file — a line of people

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