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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. shower — rain
  3. tear — from crying
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. tear — to rip
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. current — electric
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. current — of water
  11. root — of a word
  12. capital — a city
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. current — happening now
  16. capital — money
  17. rule — a law
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. root — the cause
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. root — of a plant

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