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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. date — the fruit
  3. tear — from crying
  4. squash — the sport
  5. tear — from crying
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. land — a country
  8. bear — the animal
  9. rule — government
  10. capital — a city
  11. land — ground
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bear — the animal
  18. squash — to crush
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. land — to come down
  23. tear — to rip
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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