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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chip — to eat
  3. game — wild animals
  4. chip — for betting
  5. game — a match
  6. tear — from crying
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. tear — to rip
  9. fall — to drop
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. fall — the season
  15. chair — a leader
  16. face — to confront
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to point toward
  22. fall — to drop
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. calf — of the leg

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