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

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. chip — to eat
  3. mate — a partner
  4. tear — to rip
  5. chip — for betting
  6. tear — from crying
  7. root — of a plant
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. mine — for digging
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. game — a match
  12. mate — a friend
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. root — the cause
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. root — of a word
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pound — a weight
  24. toast — bread

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