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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. march — the month
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. hand — in cards
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. hand — help
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. rule — government
  11. scale — size or range
  12. march — music
  13. rule — a law
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. tear — from crying
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. scale — in music
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. tear — to rip
  22. spring — the season
  23. march — the month
  24. tear — from crying

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