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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. row — to paddle
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rule — a law
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cold — an illness
  13. tear — to rip
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. row — a line
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — to handle
  24. deal — a big deal

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