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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. stem — to come from
  4. tear — from crying
  5. shower — rain
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rule — a law
  13. band — a ring
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — music
  20. shower — to wash
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. band — a music group
  24. rule — government

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