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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: stand · root · snap · land · hand · tear · rule · face

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stand — to bear
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — the cause
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rule — government
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. face — to point toward
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. hand — in cards
  17. land — ground
  18. hand — help
  19. rule — a law
  20. root — of a word
  21. face — to confront
  22. snap — to click
  23. tear — to rip
  24. face — part of the head

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