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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: arm · stand · root · face · rule · hide · tear · game

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. 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. arm — part of the body
  2. tear — from crying
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tear — from crying
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. root — of a word
  9. face — to confront
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rule — a law
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rule — government
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. game — a match
  16. root — the cause
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. face — to point toward
  19. root — of a plant
  20. face — part of the head
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. 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