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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. rash — a series
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rule — government
  5. bound — certain
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cold — not warm
  8. can — a tin
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. can — a tin
  13. bound — tied together
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. can — to be able to
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cell — a phone
  18. capital — money
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rule — a law
  22. bound — obliged
  23. capital — a city
  24. rash — on the skin

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