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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. row — to paddle
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chip — to eat
  5. fall — the season
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chip — for betting
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. game — a match
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. wind — moving air
  13. row — a line
  14. tear — to rip
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — finally
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wind — moving air
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. game — wild animals
  21. last — final
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. tear — from crying
  24. game — a kind of play

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