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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. charge — a price
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rule — a law
  5. file — a tool
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pop — to visit
  9. charge — in control
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. file — a document
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pop — soda
  16. charge — electricity
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pop — music
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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