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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: pass · bank · toast · rule · tear · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. toast — bread
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. rule — a law
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. bank — of a river
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pass — a permit
  12. bank — for money
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bank — for money
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. tear — to rip

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