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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. cold — an illness
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. charge — in control
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — a law
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. kid — child
  18. branch — a division
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. charge — electricity
  22. race — a contest
  23. charge — a price
  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