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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. kid — to tease
  3. tear — to rip
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. club — for golf
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — part of the head
  8. roll — a list
  9. roll — a cake
  10. sharp — clever
  11. face — to confront
  12. kid — child
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. rule — government
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. club — for dancing
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. club — a group
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. dip — to sink

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