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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: rule · chest · tear · fall · fan · rash · stick · hide

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. rule — a law
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rash — a series
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rash — hasty
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rule — government
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. fall — the season
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. fall — to drop
  23. chest — a box
  24. hide — to keep secret

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