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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. wake — a trail
  3. cold — not warm
  4. tear — to rip
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rule — a law
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. craft — a skill
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. craft — boats
  21. stem — to come from
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wake — before a funeral

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