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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 116 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. key — in music
  3. fine — all right
  4. staff — employees
  5. file — a tool
  6. rule — a law
  7. file — a line of people
  8. key — for a lock
  9. shower — rain
  10. rule — government
  11. staff — employees
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. tear — from crying
  14. prune — to trim
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. file — a document
  17. staff — a stick
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fine — high quality
  20. tear — to rip
  21. key — the most important part
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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