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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. fine — high quality
  3. row — a line
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rest — what's left
  6. chip — for betting
  7. hand — help
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tube — the underground
  10. key — in music
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. fine — all right
  14. tube — a container
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. key — the most important part
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. row — to paddle
  19. hand — in cards
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rest — a break
  22. key — for a lock
  23. rest — what's left
  24. chip — in a computer

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