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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. rule — government
  4. tear — from crying
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. object — to protest
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. cap — a hat
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. rule — a law
  11. shower — rain
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. tear — from crying
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cap — of ice
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. game — wild animals
  18. object — an aim
  19. cap — a lid
  20. tear — to rip
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. game — a match

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