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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 120 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. chip — for betting
  4. chip — to eat
  5. tear — from crying
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. tear — to rip
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. tube — a container
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. field — a subject
  15. shower — to wash
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. shower — rain
  19. board — a committee
  20. field — for sport
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. field — farmland
  23. board — to get on
  24. pitcher — a jug

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