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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — a thing
  3. tear — to rip
  4. fall — to drop
  5. ground — crushed
  6. fall — the season
  7. rule — government
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. object — an aim
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. ground — the earth
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. rule — a law
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ground — a position
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. ruler — a monarch

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