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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 120 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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. squash — to crush
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stem — to come from
  10. rule — a law
  11. rash — a series
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rash — hasty
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. squash — the sport
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. hand — in cards
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. wake — a trail

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