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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. rock — music
  4. present — a gift
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. object — a thing
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. cell — a phone
  10. chest — a box
  11. tear — to rip
  12. rock — a stone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. chip — for betting
  15. object — an aim
  16. present — the time now
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tear — from crying
  20. object — to protest
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. present — there
  23. chip — to eat
  24. rock — to move gently

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