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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. spell — a short time
  4. chip — to eat
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. spell — magic
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. spell — letters
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. chip — for betting
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wind — moving air
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. spring — the season
  22. wind — moving air
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — a loud noise

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