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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. tear — to rip
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. mine — for digging
  6. roll — a cake
  7. rule — a law
  8. game — wild animals
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. fork — in a road
  11. roll — a list
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. tear — from crying

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