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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: content · shower · rule · fine · cap · tear · stick · race

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. content — the amount
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — all right
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. tear — to rip
  10. rule — government
  11. shower — rain
  12. cap — a hat
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. rule — a law
  18. tear — from crying
  19. shower — to wash
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. race — the arms race
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — of ice

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