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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rule — a law
  4. tear — from crying
  5. key — the most important part
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. kick — in football
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rule — government
  15. game — wild animals
  16. file — a document
  17. stock — shares
  18. key — in music
  19. stock — goods
  20. tear — to rip
  21. file — a tool
  22. game — a match
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. file — a line of people

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