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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: rule · squash · foot · cap · tear · bat · mine · rest

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. 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. foot — a measure
  2. cap — of ice
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. rest — a break
  8. squash — to crush
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. rule — government
  11. cap — a hat
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. cap — a lid
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — for digging
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rule — a law
  21. bat — the animal
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rest — what's left
  24. 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