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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — a law
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. tear — from crying
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a document
  10. cell — a phone
  11. shower — rain
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. shower — to wash
  18. cold — not warm
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. tear — to rip
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. file — a line of people
  23. cell — in biology
  24. safe — a strongbox

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