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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 120 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. spell — magic
  3. last — finally
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. bass — low music
  7. chip — to eat
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. spell — letters
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. chip — for betting
  13. drill — army training
  14. tear — from crying
  15. last — to go on
  16. bat — the animal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. last — final
  19. rule — government
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. drill — the tool
  22. rule — a law
  23. spell — a short time
  24. bass — the fish

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