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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. kid — child
  5. deal — to handle
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. wound — an injury
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — to bend
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. stem — to come from
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. tear — to rip
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. chip — for betting
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. lean — thin
  22. chip — to eat
  23. kid — to tease
  24. deal — a big deal

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