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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: net · charge · rule · rest · tear · hand

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. net — after costs
  3. rest — a break
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rule — a law
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. rest — what's left
  9. net — for catching
  10. hand — help
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. charge — a price
  15. rest — what's left
  16. tear — to rip
  17. charge — in control
  18. net — in sport

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