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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rule — a law
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. track — a song
  8. saw — the tool
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. tube — a container
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bat — the animal
  17. track — to keep track
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. rule — government
  20. track — a path
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. saw — the tool
  24. tear — from crying

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