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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 116 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: tear · fan · wind · ground · rule · game · fine · snap

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. rule — a law
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. tear — from crying
  6. snap — to click
  7. rule — government
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wind — moving air
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. fine — all right
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a match
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. tear — to rip
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fine — high quality
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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