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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. rule — government
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. ground — the earth
  10. fall — the season
  11. toast — bread
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — crushed
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — clever
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fall — to drop
  20. capital — a city
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tear — from crying
  24. capital — money

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