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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. chip — for betting
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. bat — the animal
  12. tear — to rip
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. chip — to eat
  19. spring — the season
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. pitch — completely
  22. spring — of water
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. bat — for baseball

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