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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. chip — for betting
  4. bank — of a river
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bank — for money
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. spring — the season
  14. game — a match
  15. bank — for money
  16. mine — for digging
  17. tear — from crying
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. game — wild animals

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