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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 116 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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. hand — help
  4. chip — for betting
  5. field — for sport
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pitch — completely
  10. bore — to drill
  11. field — a subject
  12. rest — a break
  13. field — farmland
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to tire
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. rest — what's left
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. tear — from crying
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — part of the body

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