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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cell — in biology
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mate — a friend
  9. tube — a container
  10. rule — a law
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rule — government
  16. tear — from crying
  17. squash — to crush
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. mate — a partner
  23. cell — a phone
  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