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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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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 · tear · chair · shower · game · foot · patient · lash

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. game — wild animals
  8. rule — a law
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. foot — a measure
  16. tear — from crying
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. chair — a leader
  20. game — a match
  21. shower — rain
  22. rule — government
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. chair — a professorship

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