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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: kid · tear · file · ruler · net · rule

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. net — in sport
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. net — for catching
  5. tear — from crying
  6. net — after costs
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — a law
  10. kid — child
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. file — a line of people
  13. rule — government
  14. kid — to tease
  15. file — a document
  16. tear — to rip
  17. file — a tool
  18. ruler — a monarch

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