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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 120 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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. tear — from crying
  3. file — a document
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bulb — for light
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. hand — help
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bulb — for light
  15. snap — to click
  16. rule — a law
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. file — a line of people
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. tear — from crying
  21. file — a tool
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. rule — to rule out

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