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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 120 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: last · wound · tear · rule · hand · bay · pass · mate

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pass — a permit
  12. tear — to rip
  13. last — final
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. mate — a partner
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. mate — a friend
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mate — to breed
  24. pass — to spend time

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