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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cap — a lid
  3. chip — for betting
  4. cap — of ice
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. row — to paddle
  10. tear — to rip
  11. club — for golf
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. club — a group
  18. perch — the fish
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cap — a hat
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. row — a line

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