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

Word bank: club · wound · tear · saw · staff · rule

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. club — a group
  3. wound — an injury
  4. staff — a stick
  5. rule — a law
  6. saw — the tool
  7. club — for golf
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. staff — employees
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. staff — employees
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rule — government
  18. club — for dancing

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