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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. tear — to rip
  4. chip — for betting
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. field — farmland
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. field — a subject
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bear — the animal
  15. field — for sport
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. bear — the animal

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