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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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Word bank
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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: suit · content · rule · cold · hand · tear · bear · mine

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. rule — a law
  5. cold — an illness
  6. tear — to rip
  7. suit — clothes
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. cold — not warm
  11. suit — to fit
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. rule — government
  14. bear — the animal
  15. tear — from crying
  16. hand — help
  17. bear — the animal
  18. suit — in cards
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. tear — from crying

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