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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 124 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. tear — to rip
  3. date — the fruit
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. roll — a list
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. tear — from crying
  17. roll — a cake
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chip — for betting
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. chip — to eat

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