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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. chip — for betting
  5. race — humankind
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. tear — from crying
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. chip — to eat
  13. swing — to play on
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. dip — to sink
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bat — the animal
  18. tear — to rip
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. swing — music

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