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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: wind · hand · charge · tear · spell · sharp · deal · rule

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. tear — from crying
  7. charge — a price
  8. tear — from crying
  9. spell — magic
  10. deal — to handle
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. charge — in control
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. spell — a short time
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. hand — help
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. spell — letters
  22. hand — in cards
  23. charge — electricity
  24. wind — moving air

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