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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. last — finally
  3. present — there
  4. present — a gift
  5. cell — a phone
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. tear — from crying
  8. last — final
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. race — a contest
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. rule — government
  14. row — to paddle
  15. tear — to rip
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. present — the time now
  19. cell — in biology
  20. tear — from crying
  21. last — to go on
  22. race — humankind
  23. row — a line
  24. race — the arms race

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