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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: cell · last · tear · hand · drill · rule

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. drill — army training
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rule — government
  6. hand — in cards
  7. drill — a practice
  8. cell — in biology
  9. last — final
  10. rule — a law
  11. last — finally
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. hand — help
  17. drill — the tool
  18. tear — from crying

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