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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. race — a contest
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. rule — government
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. spring — of water
  7. tear — to rip
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. race — humankind
  12. spring — a coil
  13. tear — from crying
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pit — a hole
  17. race — the arms race
  18. spring — the season
  19. pit — in a race
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rule — a law
  22. tear — from crying
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bat — the animal

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