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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · content · race · rule · hide · tear

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. content — the amount
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. content — happy
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. fall — to drop
  12. race — the arms race
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rule — government
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. fall — the season
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rule — a law

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