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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. snap — to click
  4. lean — thin
  5. tear — to rip
  6. stock — shares
  7. chip — for betting
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. last — final
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. stock — goods
  15. tear — from crying
  16. last — finally
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a match
  19. last — to go on
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. lean — to bend
  24. hide — to keep secret

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