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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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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: toast · shower · tear · rest · tube · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. toast — bread
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rule — a law
  5. shower — to wash
  6. rest — a break
  7. shower — rain
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. tear — to rip
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tube — the underground
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. tube — a container
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rest — what's left

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