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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rule — a law
  4. branch — a division
  5. cold — not warm
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cold — an illness
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. rule — government
  11. fine — high quality
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. tear — from crying
  20. capital — money
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. capital — a city
  23. fine — all right
  24. bat — in an idiom

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