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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: object · tear · land · roll · mate · rule · fine · spring

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. mate — a friend
  3. roll — a cake
  4. mate — a partner
  5. land — ground
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. mate — to breed
  8. object — to protest
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fine — high quality
  11. land — a country
  12. spring — of water
  13. object — a thing
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rule — government
  17. tear — to rip
  18. rule — a law
  19. land — to come down
  20. object — an aim
  21. spring — the season
  22. roll — a list
  23. tear — from crying
  24. fine — a penalty

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