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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. court — of a king
  3. tear — from crying
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. shower — rain
  7. rule — a law
  8. bark — to shout
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. tear — to rip
  11. shower — to wash
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. snap — to click
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. lean — to bend
  19. court — of law
  20. lean — thin
  21. pound — a weight
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. court — for sport

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