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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. hand — in cards
  6. rule — government
  7. kid — to tease
  8. hand — help
  9. kid — child
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rock — a stone
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. stem — to come from
  18. rule — a law
  19. rock — music
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. pitcher — a jug

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