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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. sharp — clever
  5. object — to protest
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. hand — help
  8. scale — in music
  9. object — a thing
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. tear — from crying
  12. scale — size or range
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. chip — for betting
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. object — an aim
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. land — to come down
  19. hand — in cards
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. pass — a permit

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