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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. face — to confront
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. hand — in cards
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tear — from crying
  7. face — to point toward
  8. tear — from crying
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. spell — magic
  12. rule — government
  13. tube — a container
  14. rule — a law
  15. tear — to rip
  16. spell — letters
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. spell — a short time
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. land — ground
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. face — part of the head
  24. land — to come down

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