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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rest — a break
  4. tear — to rip
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. kid — to tease
  7. rest — what's left
  8. firm — steady
  9. degree — from a university
  10. kid — child
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rule — a law
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rule — government
  15. rest — what's left
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. firm — a company
  21. degree — an amount
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. firm — decided

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