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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mine — for digging
  7. charge — in control
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. rule — a law
  10. file — a tool
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. charge — a price
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. file — a document
  16. charge — electricity
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — the time now
  19. rule — government
  20. wake — a trail
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. present — there
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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