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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. snap — to click
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rule — a law
  5. wind — moving air
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rule — government
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — a group
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. vault — a safe
  16. prune — to trim
  17. club — for dancing
  18. cap — a lid
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. tear — to rip
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cap — of ice
  24. prune — to trim

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