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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 116 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. rule — government
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. tear — from crying
  5. spring — the season
  6. lean — to bend
  7. saw — the tool
  8. tear — from crying
  9. spring — of water
  10. fine — all right
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. rock — music
  14. lean — thin
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. game — wild animals
  18. tear — to rip
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. saw — the tool
  21. spring — a coil
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rule — a law
  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