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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. rule — government
  3. tear — to rip
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. cue — a signal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cue — for pool
  8. squash — to crush
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rule — a law
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cue — a hint
  18. squash — the sport
  19. fall — the season
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. game — wild animals
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. game — a kind of play

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