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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — music
  5. kid — child
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. tear — to rip
  13. fall — the season
  14. pop — soda
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kid — to tease
  19. chip — to eat
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. straw — a straw man

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