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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. squash — to crush
  3. race — a contest
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — to eat
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. race — the arms race
  11. club — a group
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bass — low music
  15. club — for dancing
  16. squash — the sport
  17. club — for golf
  18. staff — a stick
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. race — humankind
  23. staff — employees
  24. chip — for betting

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